With the presidential election coming up, a lot of confusion and misinformation can arise. It can be a lot at one once, and that can leave teenagers either not motivated to be concerned about political issues or believing everything they hear. However, students need to be involved in politics by staying informed and understanding the impact on the country.

Staying informed in local and national politics is important for a multitude of reasons. One being that the United States has such a large power and influence in the world, and Americans have the freedom to vote for leaders in a democracy. Not all countries share this luxury, so it is important for people of all ages to be involved and take advantage of this freedom.

While most high schoolers are not old enough to vote, that doesn’t mean being involved in politics isn’t important. Being aware of who is running the country is important even for those who can’t vote because the politicians who are elected by the people make decisions on behalf of Americans. At the end of the day, these decisions made by politicians are shaping the future and the world.

Being informed of what is happening can help students form their own opinions and be ready to vote later. Voting is a way for people to voice their opinions on how their government will function and how it will impact their lives. Although it doesn’t seem like much, having an opinion on political issues can help shape and change these important decisions.

On the other hand, politics can be discouraging for teenagers. It may even seem more appealing to not be involved in them instead of taking the time to educate yourself. The information can be overwhelming, and it may be hard for students to know where to start. The only way to combat this is by continuing to stay informed and understanding how big of an impact one vote can have on others, whether students can do so now or not. According to vwu.edu, many election ties were broken with just a small handful of votes.

Using websites like votesmart.org is a great way to get unbiased information about candidates in the race. Other ways to get information are looking at the politician’s websites, watching or reading unbiased news sources like ap.org, watching the political debates and overall just taking in information and interpreting it individually.