Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds will be able to vote in the next UK general election, a momentous rule change that will have repercussions on how party campaigns handle youth outreach. MSL UK’s Jo Bromilow explores.
It’s official – in 2029, Britain’s general voting population will include individuals who can’t legally drink or watch The Silence of the Lambs, as Labour confirmed earlier this week.
Elder Gen Alphas will soon have their say in the democratic process. That’s a generation born between 2010 and 2024, between 0-14 years old currently. (See how silly assigning one viewpoint to a whole collection generation looks when you think about their ages that way?). You may also know them by another nickname – ‘iPad Babies’ – as this was the first generation to be born in the new digital age and the first to therefore have screens as a key part of growing up.
The fact that they have grown up in a world where social media is as ubiquitous as TV was to their parents; it is an accepted part of their digital fabric and can no longer be treated as an opt-in for engaging them.
It should not, however, be treated as a place to expect a strong meme game – and a presence built on vibes alone – to win the election. As we saw from the ‘Kamala is Brat’ aftermath, ‘winning on social media’ does not correlate to a real-world win.
Layer in heightened emotional tensions around issues such as trans rights and the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the assumption that the younger generation will both turn up at the polls and turn up in a way that will decide elections isn’t a foregone conclusion.
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A generation that has already had their early years marred by Covid lockdowns, geopolitical chaos and a constant stream of in turns humor and horror broadcast to them on a screen 24 days a day is going to have savvy in certain areas their predecessors didn’t and will likely be far more attuned to see through political posturing (and let’s not forget they’re being raised by a generation who swung the Lib Dem vote based on a promise aimed at them that never came to pass).
A party that wants the Skibidi vote has four years to both enter the fabric of their digital consumption via clear, ownable issues and do it in a way that doesn’t sacrifice seriousness for silliness.
For politicians and brands wanting to reach this new generation and who have just about got to grips with the Gen Z media landscape will likely be in for a fresh shock in four years, where the social landscape will likely have shifted again.
This far out it’s hard to pinpoint exactly which platform will form the digital battleground for the next election, but based on current usage data for the older end of Gen Alpha, TikTok and Snapchat will have considerable sway, as will the fact that social search means party policies will be discovered – and debated – in TikTok and Instagram comments for this new group of voters, as well as in closed networks like Discord where a message will evolve beyond party control and needs clarity to stay firm.
And it’s not just about platforms.
From celebrities throwing their support behind candidates to media publications backing parties, the digital influencers that Gen Alpha has grown up with will be a vital voice in positioning the parties that want to appeal to them.
Much has been written about the influences on young men in particular – from Adolescence to the soul-searching speculation on who ‘the Joe Rogan of the left’ might be – and solving the crises facing today’s young people when it comes to identity will be wrapped up in a digital communications solution to winning their votes in 2029.
On a related note, Nigel Farage currently has the largest TikTok following of any political leader in the UK and the ‘cult of personality’ nature of TikTok will be a key differentiator between the Meta era of social campaigning and what 2029 might look like. Finding the thought leaders – and tapping them for both conversational insight and seeding of key messages – will be the key thing to watch over the coming years.
But then, let’s not forget about the second layer of influencing that these parties have to do, which is the parents of these individuals. Voting based on the future of one’s children is a prevalent (if statistically questionable given the Brexit vote) emotional draw, and combined with offering a world in which the children of millennials and Gen Z can thrive, is communicating that to those parents on the platforms they’re active on. A consistent offer, translated into the mediums of the social platforms each generation is using, is going to be key to any party wanting to dominate the dinner table discussion as much as the social one.
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Let’s see a deeper, longer-term commitment to people who are currently yelling ‘Skibidi Toilet’ at each other on the playground (don’t Google it) but who will in a few short years be standing in local elections.
We were all 14 once, God help us.
And the world was just as serious a place to us then as it is to us now. Respecting that and meeting this audience where they are is going to be key.
Jo Bromilow is the director of social and influencer at MSL UK, where she leads the agency’s social and influencer practice. With over a decade of experience, Jo is recognized for her expertise in social media trends, community engagement, and influencer strategy, delivering tailored solutions to help brands connect with audiences in meaningful ways.
Get in touch with Jo on LinkedIn.
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