What does it mean to be 20 in 2022? France Bleu is extending its microphone to the younger generation, this Tuesday, January 18, 2022, as the presidential election approaches and is still in the midst of a health crisis.
The almost two years of the Covid-19 pandemic still deeply mark the daily lives of 20-year-olds. With a sentiment shared by most of those we met which is to “not being able to fully enjoy“of the possibilities offered to them by their age.
Inflation, ecological crisis, limited outings
“I feel a little oppressed not being able to go out, not being able to decompress, testifies Chloe. All I do is go to class and come home.”
She also insists on the economic climate that weighs on his daily life.
Especially inflation, which accentuates student precariousness. It’s hard. Prices are rising, gasoline, groceries, real estate.
This is why some 20 year olds feel a certain nostalgia of a time they never knew. This is the case of Sébastien, who is a student in an engineering school in Lille, when he compares with what his father experienced. “When he talks about his life, when he was my age, he had seen lots of concerts: Renaud, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, he lists. I can’t go to concerts, even though I would like to do some. Festivals, outings with friends … Everything we hope to do is canceled.”
Distance courses, closed borders for years abroad, meeting possibilities limited by health recommendations or gauges. What is added fear for the future, in particular because of climate change for Alicia, who is studying in a business school in Lille: “It is true that it is quite complicated. Even in terms of climate change, we don’t really see the future, it can be a little scary.“
The 2022 presidential election via social networks
The year 2022 will be marked by an electoral campaign and several elections, including the presidential election. It will be the first time that these young citizens will be able to vote to elect the President of the Republic. Camille intends to take an interest in it: “I will get into it when you have to vote because it is a civic duty and it was difficult to have this right to vote, especially for me who is a woman.
But for this generation, learning politics mostly through social media, on which many inquire, see messages and comments.
It opens up the debate more, thanks to the networks, we can see more of the opinions of each other
But they are also aware of the biases they can cause, this is what Alicia points out: “With social networks, it is complicated to navigate. We don’t vote for someone’s ideas. It’s more who has a better punchline than another. We no longer vote by default.“
Which makes Nathan, who is studying in BTS in Lille, say that you have to take this medium with a grain of salt: “We need more information and not limit ourselves to the networks because everything is not true and there are too many negatives and we risk seeing everything in black“.