Going on the Offensive: Attack Ads and Canadian Youth Perceptions of and Engagement with the Democratic Process

Abstract

Many western democracies are facing declining voter turnout rates, but that decline is most significant amongst the youth demographic. In 2011, only 38.8% of Canadian youth cast their ballots in the federal election. Meanwhile campaign communications continue to favour negativity in the form of attack ads, while youth continue to report adverse perceptions of negative political advertising and a general distrust and disconnect towards politicians. There are indications that this distrust comes from a feeling, as a cohort, that they are largely ignored and marginalized from meaningful political discussion. By looking at youth engagement through the theoretical perspective of the public sphere, this semi-structured focus group study asked Canadian youth how they perceive attack ads, and how this style of campaigning impacts their perceptions of and engagement with the democratic process more generally. Youth largely denounced attack ads and their design as misleading, and claimed they failed to discuss issues that were relevant to them. Youth feel marginalized from political discourse and do not feel that politicians are doing enough to make the process more accessible. This research provides important findings for political communication researchers and campaign staffers, but also presents challenges and implications for the long-term health and representativeness of both the public sphere and our democratic process more broadly.