We’re making quick progress through the Headway Election Challenge, currently in its second week, where we’re exploring how you, especially those representing the full-of-energy teen bracket, filter through an overwhelming torrent of information. This topic surfaced through our consistent engagement with a large number of young people over the year. A disproportionate amount of information showers on us relentlessly, more than ever, majorly through social platforms and channels. According to a research conducted by the Pew Research Center, as much as a third of teenagers have been absorbed deeply in apps like YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, almost without respite. This myriad of information is available in different formats – as reels, podcasts, posts, or snaps.
For this week, we’re partnering with Chalkbeat to ask teenagers how they’re navigating and distributing all this election-related information. ‘Social platforms have a dual facet, especially in the realm of civic engagement,’ points out Lavanya Mani, a 17-year-old passionate senior at Clayton High School in St. Louis. The multifaceted Ms. Mani, a proud member of her school’s speech and debate team, working diligently for the student newspaper, and creatively crocheting a strikingly blue laptop case underlines a crucial tension inherent in a teenager’s virtual presence.
She expresses, ‘On one side, it’s absolutely incredible that anyone can generate content and disseminate their viewpoints across the globe.’ But there’s a flip side, she believes, that can ‘quite awful since it fosters content directed towards provoking sensational reactions and engaging users in controversial arguments, primarily driven by the thirst for likes and triggering comments.’
Young Vaishnavi Kumbala, another 17-year-old high school senior from Haynes Academy in Metairie, La., copes with this incessant surge of news and information by craving even more of it. ‘I always verify my findings from not just a single outlet or source,’ she states, ‘I always read different accounts and opinion columns to understand varying perspectives on the matter, which enables me to formulate an informed opinion.’
Kumbala gives added depth to her thoughts by explaining, ‘Achieving a comprehensive understanding is, in a way, a collective discursive process.’ Kumbala proposes that this discursive process involves her own contribution to the discussion, coupled with involvement from others to bring different perspectives to the table. ‘In the end, we are likely to develop a more in-depth understanding,’ Kumbala reasons.
However, as Ms. Mani underlines, there comes a time when we have to momentarily disconnect from our phones and introspect. ‘What are my thoughts about this situation? What are my convictions? What are my ethical standpoints on it that guide me to a certain verdict?’ Mani advises. She continues, ‘Failing to draw the line leads to an echo chamber where we regurgitate others’ perspectives, which we perceive to be universally correct, eliminating the possibility of productive dialog.’
This neatly rounds up to our query for the second week of the Election Challenge. So, teens, how are you enlightening yourself and peers about the upcoming 2024 Presidential race?