Major parties leverage digital platforms to reach young voters in hopes of a viral victory ahead of the federal election

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than half a million 'gen z' voters will cast their ballot for the first time at the upcoming federal election. Political parties are leveraging digital platforms more than ever before.  Even working with online influencers to get their message out to young people. In countries like the US a gender divide has developed among young voters with men moving to the right and women to the left. So, who will this new wave of voters in Australia defined by the internet and algorithms throw their support behind?

Transcript

00:00Is beer too expensive under elbow?

00:06The question of the day.

00:08Oliver and Abby aren't just curious about what their fellow students think.

00:12Come on, use the marker.

00:13They're trying to attract new members to the University of Wollongong's Liberal Club.

00:18Yes?

00:19Everyone's been engaged, especially with the cost of living crisis.

00:21I think the beer question has been bring it to the forefront.

00:24We got 20 sign ups yesterday.

00:26Yep, so if we can beat 20 today, that's like 40, that's amazing.

00:32Today there's stiff competition from other political clubs.

00:3614 bucks a schooner guys.

00:38Abby and Oliver might both vote for the coalition, but their views aren't always the same.

00:43I guess I'm a little bit more socially left than what Ollie is.

00:49Trump's a big one.

00:50I'm a bit more pro-Trump than Abby is.

00:53That whole women's rights to their own body is kind of my thing.

00:56I believe that women should choose what they can do with their body.

01:00With the rise of Trump, women being a bit more scared to vote right because they believe

01:05they affiliate the right with Trump.

01:07I think we've just got to understand and have a little bit more political literacy around

01:11what each party stands for.

01:14Attracting young women can be a challenge for them.

01:18Social media being a really big influence with our generation, less and less women are

01:22wanting to join just because they're afraid of backlash I guess.

01:25I love how they have Trump on the poster.

01:30For Oliver, it's a different story.

01:32He knows exactly what cast him into the world of politics.

01:37My introduction to politics was in 2016 with Donald Trump.

01:40And it was just raw, off the cuff, and he just went with it.

01:43And I thought that was a really good value to have in a politician, someone who says

01:48what they're thinking.

01:49His social media is full of political content, lots of it to do with Trump or other conservative

01:54figures and he thinks it's probably different to what his female friends are viewing.

01:59A lot of my female friends are a lot more accepting and opening to social issues and

02:04social justice.

02:05I think men are a lot more sceptical and I think they're a lot more black and white in

02:09how they think.

02:10For this generation, their algorithms could shape their political choices.

02:16We've seen the advent of social media platforms and the echo chambers it creates.

02:22It can often lead to people segregating into communities of like-minded people.

02:29At elections around the world, from the US to Germany, Poland to South Korea, young men

02:35have thrown their support behind right-wing and populist leaders.

02:40Part of that is thought to be fuelled by conversations and content that's happening on social media

02:45and podcasts.

02:46But is this sort of gender divide happening in Australia?

02:51According to the 2022 Australian election study, a little over a quarter of Gen Z voted

02:56for the Coalition, with the majority voting for the Greens or Labor.

03:01It found this cohort was actually more progressive than other generations at the same age, but

03:06across all stages of life, men were more likely to vote for parties on the right.

03:14At this pub in the Illawarra south of Sydney, there's a different kind of gender divide

03:19between the decided and the undecided.

03:21Do you know who you're going to vote for?

03:24I haven't really thought about it.

03:26Yeah, me too.

03:27You guys?

03:28Well, I usually vote Greens.

03:29Yeah, me too.

03:30I'd vote Greens and Labor.

03:31Well, my parents voted for the Greens and I feel like they have good morals for the

03:38people, like look after the people, and I just would not want Liberals to win.

03:45Is there anything that you care about when you're voting?

03:49My future in terms of buying a house, what career I'm going to be in, what I'm going

03:55to do for the rest of my life.

03:56And I don't know if that's reflected by anyone, so, you know, I don't want to make the wrong

04:01call, but I don't know which call the right one is.

04:04The cost of more than just a beer on the minds of these young and undecided voters.

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