The 'I Don't Do Politics' Epidemic

Forbes

31-07-2025

'I don't do politics.'
It's a phrase I have consistently heard from my peers, particularly since I started college in Fall 2024 leading up to the presidential election. On the surface, it may seem that my peers are indifferent or apathetic. Rather, it is the result of a harmful behavior that is deeply ingrained in our generation, one that will affect us for years to come if we don't take action.
It's not that young people don't care — it's that we have been taught that we shouldn't and can't care about politics. This narrative is dangerous. It's strategic. And it's worked for far too long.
Just over six months after election day in North Carolina, the longest ongoing election finally ended – and laid bare extensive coordinated efforts to suppress the youth vote. One of the candidates running for a Supreme Court seat challenged over 60,000 votes, including mine. According to research from the Student Voting Rights Lab at Duke and North Carolina Central University, those aged 18 to 25 had their votes disproportionately challenged, with these voters being 3.4 times more likely to be targeted than voters over the age of 65.
Excruciating frustration is an understatement for how I felt about my vote being at risk — and that is coming from someone who is actively engaged in our democracy. Beyond that feeling, I fear what this may mean for young people's faith in the electoral system and their plans to vote in the future. Although the challenge was ultimately unsuccessful, it sent the message to youth voters that our voices should not and may not be counted. We're entering adulthood in a system that questions the validity of our voice.
This isn't only happening in North Carolina — it's part of a national trend targeting youth voters. Strict voter ID laws create unnecessary barriers to voting for students in states like Arizona, North Dakota, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas where student identification is not considered a valid form of voter ID. Beyond these states, many others have confusing or convoluted laws that make it harder for students to vote. These laws send a clear message to youth voters: your vote is not welcome here.
So when I hear fellow students say 'I don't do politics,' what I really hear is 'no one has ever taught me how.' And even worse: 'My voice doesn't matter. I don't matter.'
But we do matter. So much so that the efforts to silence our voices and impact have become highly coordinated and well-funded. To combat these attacks, we must address the misinformation being spread and change this narrative.
Because while us students may say we don't 'do politics,' it affects every facet of our lives: tuition, healthcare, housing, the economy, foreign policy, safety, the environment, the job market — the list is endless. Ultimately, we are all impacted by the outcomes of elections, so we should all have a say in our future.
So what can we do? We start with each other.
The best way to break through this barrier of youth disengagement is through peer-to-peer organizing. Not political ads or celebrity endorsements. Students talking to students, and more importantly, students listening to students. Face-to-face, one-on-one, in big groups, at the student union, in group chats, wherever and everywhere we gather. That's where the change happens: in our everyday lives.
There is a dire need for students to spearhead this effort, and we don't need to ask for permission; we can start right now. We can have these conversations and listen to one another. That's where engagement starts, but it does not end there. Here are your next steps to stop this epidemic from spreading further.
Together, we can unlearn that phrase and way of life, and replace it with something more fitting for the power that our generation has. We must unlearn this belief that "we don't do politics" — because politics is already shaping our lives. It's time we shaped it back.