How do you get your news? Do you turn on the TV at 9pm to watch the evening headlines? Do you use websites to check what is happening around the world?
Or do you solely use social media? According to YouGov polls, 47% of 18–24-year-olds get their news from social media. That is 12% higher than 25–49-yearolds, so it is safe to assume that for people under 18 it will be even higher.
This statistic should make us pause. It tells us something important about how the next generation is learning about politics, forming opinions, and understanding the world: largely through a system that has no gatekeepers, no accountability, and no obligation to tell the truth. We need to take an active interest in the habits of those younger than us and how they will have been impacted by a life in front of screens.
This is not an attack on young people—it is actually far from it. They are so used to operating in the digital world that was placed into their hands earlier than any of us would have been. And there are so many positives to it as well: platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X can stimulate political conversations and give ordinary people a voice that they may not be able to find anywhere else; and, social media can be excellent at picking up information that is too controversial for mainstream news media and to share experiences in ways that journalists may be restricted from.
However, we need to find a balance. BBC News, The Guardian, the Daily Mail; whilst these are all institutions with historic examples of controversy, there is an advantage to having so many eyes on them: stricter rules, higher levels of scrutiny and, as a consequence, better standards for delivering the truth. They are not perfect, but they try to find the truth and face consequences when they mislead.
If they get something majorly wrong, they are challenged in Parliament, investigated by Ofcom, or forced to issue formal corrections. Social media has none of this. Instead, social media is a cesspit of useful information, damaging misinformation, and an army of videos telling you what you should believe with no reason or evidence.
When the line is as blurred as it is on social media, should we be trusting it as our main source of news? If these platforms are where young people are learning about politics, then we have a responsibility to make sure they have the tools to navigate it safely. And that is where we have a gap that a political education could help fill in.
At the moment, political literacy in the UK is inconsistent and largely ignored, whilst 18-year-olds are expected to understand election campaigns, referendums, online debates, and increasingly polarised political discourse with no formal preparation. You would never let someone drive a car without lessons, yet we expect teenagers to find their place in a political system they have never been taught to navigate. We need children to be given the skills so they know how to research, check, and verify the information they are being told.
Political education is not about telling young people what to think, it is about giving them the tools to think critically. How do you spot a biased headline? How do you fact-check claims you see online or hear people repeating?
What rights do you have? How does the electoral system work? Who holds the government to account and how?
We should not leave another generation guessing. A standardised political education in schools would empower young people, not indoctrinate them. It would close the gap between those who grow up surrounded by political conversation and those who do not, and it would protect students from the misinformation and manipulation they are constantly surrounded by in online spaces now.
Most importantly, it would build a generation that feels confident participating in democracy and doesn’t just watch from the sidelines. Young people are not apathetic. They care about climate change, housing, healthcare, education, racism, and inequality.
They sign petitions, attend marches, argue about policy online, and try to make sense of the world they are inheriting. The least we can do is give them the education to let them create real power.