Thursday, March 4, 2010 x 11:00 PM

I can't be bothered to put it on a hard disk and transfer to my bro's comp so I'll post my graphic organiser about Political Apathy in youths here :)

Thesis : Singapore youths today are politically apathetic.

Definition of politically apathetic: Being disinterested and unwilling to think about anything related to politics.

First article titled "Political apathy among youths in Singapore" (taken from blog) - [highlights OB markers as deterring youth from being politically active]: Author takes netural stand on whether or not government is causing youth political apathy. OB markers are not well understood. Quoted - "The unclear definition of the Out of Bounds (OB) markers deters the citizens and increasingly the Singapore youth".

Additional point [Afraid of posting(?)]: Singapore youths are afraid of getting punishment from discussing wrong or what is not allowed on the Internet. This situation is made worse by youths getting sent to court after posting racist comments on blogs.

Second article titled "Singaporean youths are apathetic about Singapore’s future" (taken from theonlinecitizen.com, a blog site which reflects the views of the average Singaporean who is concerned about country issues) [POLITICAL STABILITY]: Author does not mention government as contributing factor to youth political apathy, instead relates political apathy to other factors such as parental upbringing. Political apathy is generated because Singapore is going through a period of "Political Stability" and the younger generation which ahs not grown up in a period of political strife will only get reliant on the current ruling government which is doing satisfactorily well, therefore becoming politically apathetic.

Additional point from second article: The author notes even if Singapore youth are not apathetic and do care about politics, they do not know to what extent are they able to contribute or do about it. Quoted from article "Singaporeans assume they have little say in their future."

Personal opinion first point [Singapore youth are getting more politically active]: Because of anonymity of web we cannot prove whether the ones posting or reading about political issues are Singapore youth. However, this percentage of youth being politically active under the cloak of anonymity is increasing significantly, shown by more thinking and in-depth discussions on political forums and/or blogsites.

Personal opinion second point [We study to earn money in the future, contributing only to Singapore's economy] : Some people may think that Singapore youth are not politically apathetic we are just focused on our studies during our youth to contribute to society afterward. I agree that we will be contributing to society but the average guy studies during his youth afterwards working to earn money therefore only contributing to the society's economy (and not politically).

Sub-conclusion: This shows little or no interest in politics at all.

Conclusion: I conclude that Singapore youths are politically apathetic.

Labels: Life