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| Source: conscienhealth.org |
Most people have a tendency to be loyal and
to gravitate toward what is comfortable and familiar. If a person has a Honda
as his first car, he is more likely to purchase another Honda as his next car
than someone who had a Ford as his first car instead. It's not that Honda is
necessarily any better or worse than Ford; it's that this person already has a
good idea of what to expect from a Honda and already has some grasp on its
strengths and weaknesses. This psychological concept can be seen from a
commercial perspective when it comes to buying certain brands or preferring
certain products, but it also plays a very critical role in the world of
politics.
A good number of political candidates may
gravitate their attention toward their core demographic, but the electorate
will continue to age and it is arguably even more important to focus their
efforts on the newest and next generations of voters if they hope to secure
their political future. Pursuing the youth vote also means attempting to secure
that first voter advantage. If a young person is voting for the first time and
chooses candidate A from party X, he or she is more likely to vote for party X
again in the next election.
This situation is playing out right now,
leading up to the 2014 presidential elections in Indonesia in July. The
Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) has clearly recognized this, as
the party's presidential candidate Joko Widodo has garnered
a lot of attention on social media in the country. And social media is a
platform that is dominated by younger demographics. When “Jokowi” was announced
as the PDI-P's presidential candidate, the hashtag #JKW4P quickly started
trending locally. This would then lead to further influence on other young
voters who may not have otherwise cared or paid attention to the upcoming
election.
Of the 187 million people registered to
vote in Indonesia, an impressive 29 percent (54 million) are under the age of
30 and an incredible 22 million – aged 17 to 21 – are voting for the first
time. If the PDI-P is able to capture the hearts and minds of these 22 million
voters, they would have secured 12% of the popular vote already.
In Indonesia, as well as other countries
around the world, the youth movement is centred upon technology. Countless
election-related apps have sprung up in Indonesia, educating the public on the
importance decision they are about to make. American President Barack Obama
certainly leveraged technology and social media during
his 2008 campaign and the youth
of Nigeria support e-voting technology. Whereas older generations may be
reluctant to change, young people are
embracing the power and convenience of the Internet and e-voting.
A presidential or other political candidate
in nearly any part of the world must be cognisant of this shifting paradigm if
they hope to stay relevant in the years and decades to follow. The parties and
candidates that clearly demonstrate their dedication to social media, the
Internet and advancing technology within and beyond the election cycle will be
better positioned to appeal to younger generations.
And if receive that same kind of enthusiasm
and dedication in return, they may just see a flood of voters buying more
Hondas for years to come.
