Cyrus: The Youth Shift

When I first told my friends I was voting in the democratic caucus, they all laughed. But now they are asking me who they should vote for. For quite some time in the U.S, the term Young Voter was nothing more than an oxymoron. Voting used to be for old folks and teachers pets. My, how times have a-changed. Now more than ever new voters are taking the reigns, and getting the attention of candidates, who have done there darnedest to shape there messages to woo hipsters and Wu-Tang fans alike.

Voting is not passé, quite the contrary, voting has become “the new black”, a way to say “screw the man!” So while twenty something’s are chatting about debates at coffee shops, presidential wanna-bees are busy coloring themselves young. Who would have ever thought that a future president would be endorsed in a Hip-Hop music video? It’s kind of amusing to watch the old farts scramble to get the approval of a growing informed youth population. It reminds me of eating out with my dad when he said (with perfect enunciation), “this is a dope dinner, we should eat here more often.” Did he just say dope? It was amusing then, and it’s painfully hilarious now.

White House hopefuls have been exchanging blows and jabs not only on television and radio, but more recently, on youtube.com. Who watches youtube? Not your grandma, that’s for sure. The Internet as a whole is straight up youth turf, and they know it. This new young powerhouse is tired of business as usual. We want politically incorrect sketch comedy and poignant cartoons. We want our news sources to be interactive, current and on-demand. It’s a huge shift, but ultimately, politicians have adapted amazingly quickly. It’s only a matter of time before I log onto myspace and see Chelsea and Hilary Clinton in skinny jeans doing the soulja boy!