Amid the trials, tribulations, and controversies surrounding this year’s University of Malta Freshers’ Week, it would have been easy to miss Times of Malta’s video filmed on campus discussing student social lives and prospective future salaries.
Among the plethora of different replies about whether the respondents would consider leaving the island and what they wanted to get out of their time spent at university, there was one clear feeling students seemed to share: their disenchantment when it came to the state of the local political scene.
While this may surprise some, the writing has been on the wall for quite some time and was very apparent during the MEP elections held in June. In a Eurobarometer survey conducted around two months before voting day among 546 Maltese youths aged between 15 and 30, only 47% said they would be voting, while a whopping 31% expressed a lack of intent to participate.
These numbers indicate that one-third of our younger citizens either feel unrepresented, are frustrated with our political system, or, even worse, have reached the point where they no longer have any confidence in what their country offers them.
What many politicians are failing to grasp is how different Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is from previous generations
The latter sentiment was particularly present in the video compiled at Freshers’ Week, with one respondent notably replying to the question about the absence of youth voters in the MEP elections with the damning words: “I saw discouragement among all of my friends; they simply couldn’t care about it… Not only have they lost faith in the system, I think they’ve unfortunately lost faith in the country and the state of it itself. Things are going wrong left, right, and centre”.
Another student said: “Politicians try to make an effort to connect with us, the youth, but I think that they’re not hitting the nail on the head.”
What many politicians are failing to grasp is how different Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is from previous generations.
Born in an age consumed by technological advances where they are used to having information at the touch of a button and being part of a global community, Generation Z’s culture is not defined by their family, friends, and immediate environment but by a far broader landscape.
This frees them to identify faults with Malta’s main parties and be politically independent. In addition, this generation experiences much more disillusionment because of the cost of living and inflation.
While the Boomer Generation and Generation X were able to secure homes with relative ease, and Millennials generally struggle to cope, Generation Z start their time in the workplace already knowing that they probably will never be able to afford the kind of house they grew up in. They also are generally immune to the politically turbulent 1980s and the run-up to the EU referendum.
If we want our youths to be engaged, we need to involve them more in decision-making processes and listen to what they have to say, instead of generally labelling them difficult and combative.
The age of older men in ties and carrying briefcases making decisions in dusty offices alone while everyone rushes to do their bidding out of fear and deference is on the way out.
Though the young should always show respect, they demand collaboration and a place at the table; our politicians would do well to hear them out. Who knows, they could even win them the next election.