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At a recent conference organized by MCC’s Youth Research Institute, the political engagement of today’s generation took center stage, of a generation that no longer seeks politics where its predecessors did, nor speaks about it in the ways that were once customary. Yet the core question remained the same: how can we understand one another in politics when the words, spaces, and channels have fundamentally changed?
The conference When Young People Take the Floor explored how political engagement among younger generations is changing. Opening the event, Georgina Kiss-Kozma, Deputy Director of MCC’s Youth Research Institute, presented research showing that Hungarian youth are far less apolitical than often assumed: around 80 percent of those aged 15–39 regularly encounter political content, primarily through platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, news portals, and TikTok. Political interest has not disappeared, she argued, but has shifted to new spaces and formats.
An international panel featuring Jennie Bristow, UK-based sociologist, Brent Buchanan, and Jay Richards, US-based Philosopher, examined global trends. The speakers agreed that while technology has increased exposure to politics, it has also weakened traditional forms of participation. Emotional motivation plays a central role in political behavior, and young people should not be treated as a single, homogeneous generation. Social media, they noted, often creates only the illusion of community, underscoring the continued importance of trust and offline dialogue.
A second panel focused on political communication in the age of artificial intelligence. Chaya Raichik, Founder of Libs of TikTok, Fleur Elizabeth Meston, Host of the Bombshells Podcast, and Georgina Kiss-Kozma, Deputy Director of MCC’s Youth Research Institute, emphasized that young people constantly encounter political content, making authenticity essential. Issues such as housing, future security, mental health, and the environment directly shape their political sensitivity, and messages perceived as inauthentic are quickly dismissed.
The final panel turned to the Hungarian context. Ágoston Sámuel Mráz,Péter Pillók,Andrea Szabó and Levente Székely, sociologist, highlighted growing interest in public affairs among young people, driven largely by uncertainty about personal futures, while noting that increased attention does not automatically translate into higher voter turnout. Effective engagement, they argued, depends on credibility, personal tone, and the smart use of short, visual formats.
The conference concluded that young people have not withdrawn from politics—they are simply engaging with it differently. The challenge today is not to draw them in, but to listen and respond in the spaces where they already speak.
