If all ages are influenced by misinformation, should there be any age limits on voting?
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
As far as I am concerned, allowing 16 years old teenagers to vote can considerably put democracy in a critical situation. While young voices are important and deserve to be heard, voting is a serious civic responsability that requires a high level or political maturity, life experience and independence.
To start wiht, I would like to introduce you to the fact that, according to te Complutense University of Madrid, 70.3% of teens read information from social media. Nevertheless, thsi is not all, 87% of adolescents are concious of the amount of misinformatrion they find in these websites but they don't make sure if the thing sthey read are true or not. Therefore, a question comes to mi mind, how are they going to exercise their possible right to vote if they are not even ready to discern between biased information from the verified one? Owing to the fact that, ambitious leaders who want ot gain power can use these online platforms to spread their propaganda.
On the other hand, as indicated by the American Psychological Association. The prefrontal cortex, which governs judgment and self-control, is still developing at 16, so many teens can't yet make complex decisions like adults.
Conforming to an International Civic and Citizenship Education Study research, the average civic knowledge at ages 14-16 still presents significant gaps in institutional understanding and democratic functioning. Giving them a chance of voting before they have basic knowledge about it is like teaching a toddler how to run if he doesn't know how to walk.
Some others might say: democracy is permitting citizens to exercise their ideology over concerns that affect them regardless of their age. That being the case, they would have a voice in current worries and give them a solution that benefits teenagers, adults and elderly-people equally.
While some of that group can do it democratically, sadly it is not the norm, it is the exception. As the numerous scientific researches have evidenced it. Authorizing them to participate in chosing leaders, cna make democracy depend on peer pressure, ignorance and, mainly in social media rather than news free from misleading content. Would you let your teenager decide your car insurance plan that prevents you from financial or legal issues, then, why would you give them a voice when chosing leaders that shape a whole country's destination, economy and success?
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