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Highlights from the NRN study of the political engagement of teens [November 1, 2008]

National Research Network (NRN) conducted a study of 13 to 17 year olds to understand their consumption of political news as well as their political interests and leanings. This study is timely given that speculation about the 2012 election has already begun.

METHOD

• The data are based on primary research of an online survey of a national sample of 13 to 17 year olds conducted in September/October 2008, resulting in 520 responses.

INTEREST IN POLITICAL NEWS

• Political news ties for 7th with world news (out of 15 topics), with only one-third of teens saying they are interested in it. For those teens who are not interested in political news, the most popular reason is because they are not old enough to vote (70%) and because they find political news boring (38%).
• Teens are most interested in entertainment news, followed by fashion (more interesting to girls), sports and technology/science (both are more interesting to boys).

CONSUMPTION OF POLITICAL NEWS

• Teens who are interested in political news are consuming it on a weekly basis, if not more often.
• Teens are most likely to get their political news from television (68%).
• The most popular TV outlet where teens are getting political news is from cable TV news (62%), TV morning shows (52%) and network TV news (51%). These three TV outlets are also seen as being extremely trustworthy, with over 90% of teens saying they are confident they can trust the news they get from these TV outlets.
• Much has been made of the potential for teens to confuse the political content of TV comedies and satires (like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live) with legitimate political news. It appears that this concern is well placed: 1 out of every 4 teens gets their political news from satirical and/or comedic TV outlets and their trust in this news is quite high (88% are confident they can trust it).
• The second most popular medium where teens get their political news is the Internet (58%).
  • The most popular online outlets where teens are getting their news are traditional news sites (68%) and clicking on links to individual stories that are posted on homepages or portal pages (56%). These most popular online news sources are also seen as being very trustworthy, with at least 95% of teens saying they are confident they can trust the political news they get here.
  • It is interesting to note that just over one-third of teen get their political news from social websites like MySpace and only 62% feel that they can trust the news they get from this type of site. Given the time and energy it takes for campaigns to create and maintain pages on these sites, such efforts might be better spent trying to gain visibility in other more visited and trustworthy online outlets.
• The third most popular source where teens get their political news is through their social ties (32%).
  • The most popular social outlets where teens are getting their political news are from parents (85%), teachers (77%), friends (68%) and other family members (54%). Teens are much more likely to be confident in trusting the political news they get from parents, teachers and other family members (97% or more) than they are in the news they get from friends (68%).

ELECTION 2008

• When asked about Election 2008 specifically, only 10% of teens are not paying attention to the presidential race at all. Among the 90% who are paying attention, 29% are watching it a little bit (every other week or less), 43% are watching it somewhat closely (every other day, every few days or on a weekly basis) and 27% are watching it very closely (at least on a daily basis if not more).
• The top three issues that matter most to teens are the economy (98% say it is important), education and energy (92% each). Stem cell research (58%) and same sex marriage (48%) are the issues that resonate the least among teens.
• Teens are more likely to say they understand Obama’s views on the issues (81%) than McCain’s (67%). Just over half of teens say they understand Biden’s and Palin’s views on the issues (54% and 56%, respectively). Ralph Nader and Bob Barr do not fair as well – only 29% of teens understand Nader’s views and only 22% understand Barr’s.
  • Teens overwhelmingly feel that Barack Obama more closely reflects their views on all issues than John McCain does.
  • With respect to teens’ top three important issues, 46% feel Obama reflects their views on the economy (+23% over McCain), 51% think he reflects their views on education (+33% over McCain) and 45% feel he reflects their views on energy (+21% over McCain).
• More than half (54%) of teens surveyed say they would vote for Obama if they could vote in an election held tomorrow. McCain would win votes from 31% of teens. Four percent of teens would vote for another candidate, 9% are undecided and 2% would abstain from voting altogether.
  • Obama’s platform of change appears to be resonating with his teen supporters. Almost three-quarters (74%) say they would vote for Obama because he will definitely turn this country around whereas only 33% of McCain voters said the same thing (Obama +41%). Obama voters also are more likely than McCain voters to elect him because of his proposed policies (Obama +22%).
  • McCain’s platform of putting country first and being ready for the presidency from day one appears to be resonating with his teen supporters as well. Just over three-quarters (76%) say they would vote for McCain because of his ability to handle a major crisis whereas only 49% of Obama voters said the same thing (McCain +27%). McCain voters are also more likely than Obama voters to elect him because of his in-depth knowledge of world affairs (McCain +25%). Half of the McCain supporters say they would vote for him because of his war hero status (whereas only 21% vote for Obama because of his law background, McCain +29%).
  • Barack Obama’s race has received a great deal of attention during Election 2008. Among teens, the fact that Obama is an African-American is more important to his voters (54% would vote for him because they think America is ready for an African-American president) than to McCain voters (only 19% would vote for McCain because they feel America is not ready for an African-American president).
  • Obama’s and McCain’s choices for vice presidential candidates received a great deal of attention after the conventions this summer. Many wondered if Obama made a mistake not choosing Hillary Clinton as his running mate. The Republican Party appeared energized by John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Among teens, the “Palin Effect” appears to hold, with 44% of McCain voters saying that her being on the ticket is one reason why they would vote for McCain whereas only 17% of Obama voters say the same thing of Biden (McCain +27%).

THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

• In terms of the vice presidential candidates’ images among teens, Biden benefitted more from the Vice Presidential debate than Palin did.
  • Prior to the debate, teens were more likely to say Biden was knowledgeable about world affairs than Palin (56% vs. 38%, respectively). Palin was more likely than Biden to be seen as a good public speaker (68% vs. 49%, respectively) and to stand up for her beliefs (66% vs. 49%, respectively).
  • After the debate, Biden is even more likely than Palin to be seen as politically experienced (79% vs. 42%, respectively), knowledgeable about world affairs (73% vs. 46%, respectively) and a good public speaker (71% vs. 61%, respectively). After the debate, Palin was no longer more likely than Biden to be seen as standing up for her beliefs (72% vs. 68%, respectively).
  • Prior to the debate, 37% of teens said that Biden is better suited to step into the role as President if necessary whereas only 24% said the same thing of Palin. After the debate, confidence in Biden assuming the presidency grows, with 48% of teens saying he is better suited and 30% saying Palin is.

POLITICAL ADS

• More than three-quarters (78%) of teens say they have seen/heard political ads during Election 2008.
  • Among those who have seen political ads, TV is the most common place to have seen them (95%), with online (39%) and on the radio (33%) lagging further behind. Only 16% saw political ads that came in the mail and only 13% saw ads online.
  • Political ads of all types are seen as fairly trustworthy with almost three-quarters (72%) of teens saying they are confident they can trust the information they get from political ads they have seen on TV.
• In terms of the subject matter of the political ads that teens are seeing/hearing, Obama ads are more visible than McCain ads, regardless of their tone. Sixty-nine percent of teens say they have seen negative Obama ads and 64% say they have seen ads supporting him. Sixty-two percent of teens seeing political ads have seen negative McCain ads and just over half (53%) have seen political ads in support of him.
• Half of teens feel that political ads are good for the democratic process and 46% of them find them interesting and/or engaging. In terms of the quantity of political ads, 42% of teens feel the amount is appropriate. Two out of five teens feel that political ads are informative and 37% believe them to be a good use of campaign funds. Just over one-quarter (28%) feel that political ads improve the impressions of their candidate of choice but only 24% feel that most political ads are accurate.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2012

• Almost half (46%) of teens are somewhat or extremely frustrated by the fact that they cannot vote in this year’s election and another 22% are a little frustrated. One-third of teens (32%) said they were not frustrated at all.
• An impressive 85% of teens currently 14 to 17 years old say they are looking forward to voting in the 2012 election.
• More than 40% of teens categorize themselves as moderates with only 21% saying they are conservative and 19% saying they are liberal. Almost 1 in 10 teens could not decide where they fit on the conservative/liberal spectrum.
• 43% of teens say that if they could register to vote today, they would register as Democrats. 20% say they would become registered Republicans. 19% would be independents and 17% are undecided. That’s over one-third of teens who can be won over by either major party for the 2012 election.
• It comes as no surprise that conservative teens are most likely to register as Republicans (58%) and liberal teens are most likely to register as Democrats (63%). What is interesting is that half of moderate teens say they would also register as Democrats as would 37% of those who are undecided about their political leanings. This is a huge opportunity for the Democratic Party to grow their rolls when these teens turn 18.

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