I can't say I am surprised; I don't think that I was particularly au fait with politics in my late teens to mid 20's, although I'd like to think I had a little more knowledge than those in the video.
We grow up and live in a country where democracy is the norm (thank god) and a lot of us have become blazé about it as a result I think, just assuming that the repercussions of who runs the country and local councils will not affect our lives.
At least these interviewees were honest about not knowing their constituency or who their MP was. Lack of knowledge isn't confined to younger voters. I seem to remember an assortment of politicians not just pretending they knew about a (non-existent) drug called "cake", but going on camera to denounce its horrific effects.
In 2008, the City of Vancouver had some short videos which may make you smile. ( 1 ) ( 2 ).
Many people don't know what a constituency is, or what an MP actually is (past perhaps knowing what the letters 'MP' stand for) - let alone getting to the point where they can say what or who their own one is!
...there are a huge range of different reasons why people don't know this stuff though and I think it's really important not to judge. Sometimes it's very hard for people to understand why politics is important or that voting, as a concept, is about empowerment and giving people a 'voice'. Not everyone finishes school, goes to uni, or has people around them to tell them why this stuff matters, how it's relevant to their lives, or to explain political structures at local/national level to them.
I agree Alan - at least on the video the interviewees were honest enough to admit it! And as you say, it's not just confined to younger voters - I think sometimes people get to an age where they're too embarassed to ask if they don't understand something, and it's easier to then just disengage and ignore what's going on around them.
To me things like this video are important - because although they're done in a lighthearted/humorous/'milking the shock factor' way, they make an important point by drawing attention to the fact that many people know so little, and hopefully that will encourage more people to try to do something about it.
Don't know - would be interesting to know wouldn't it!
I certainly seem to remember that there were a lot more party posters, etc in peoples windows around election time when I was growing up - but I don't know whether that was really a sign that more people were politically aware.
Perhaps looking at patterns in voter turnout over the last 30 or so years might give some indicator of whether people were more clued up about politicians/elections in the past?