Giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote is a chance to tackle online disinformation for good

This is not something new up here in Scotland - this age group was first given the vote in the 2014 independence referendum, and has been eligible to vote in the last two Scottish Parliament elections.

This was a political move by the SNP government of the time, as this age group was thought to be more likely to vote Yes and then back the nationalists. There is similar cynicism now that Labour has the same motivations by lowering the voting age.

Regardless of the motivation, it created a politically engaged generation in Scotland.

Research by Edinburgh University suggests those who were 16 and 17 and voted in the 2016 Holyrood election were more likely to turn out for the 2021 election than those who had been 18.

Some argue young people do not have the life experience needed to be given such a responsibility, but we need to give them a bit more credit. There are plenty of engaged young people who care about who governs them.

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Ultimately whoever gets elected will impact their life for the next five years, and for the majority of that time they will be adults over the age of 18. Lowering the age limit may mean parties are more inclined to emphasise policies which affect this age group more, such as low wages, further education and housing costs. That is no bad thing.

I was 16 during the 2010 general election and 17 at the 2011 Scottish election. I was not able to vote in either, but I still watched the televised debates and spoke at length about it with my friends.

The school library held a well-attended mock election on polling day. There was even a Question Time-style debate organised in the assembly hall with some of the candidates - hundreds of pupils attended and some were even turned away because there were no seats left.

Yes this was 15 years ago, but it shows young people will engage if you give them the chance.

One of the main criticisms I have seen raised is concerns about how influenced 16 and 17 year old voters will be by social media.

Last year an Ofcom report suggested 88 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds used online sources to get their news, mainly social media. For 12 to 15 year olds, the ones who will benefit from the new voting age, 12 per cent said TikTok was their main news source.

Using social media to reach voters is nothing new. In last year’s general election, the majority of the Scottish Greens’ advertising went on social media. Former US President Barack Obama pioneered the use of Facebook to help him win the keys to the White House in 2008. His successor Donald Trump did the same on Twitter and X in 2016 and 2024.

We already know there are bad faith actors on these platforms actively seeking to influence young voters, but that in itself is not a reason to block these young people from enfranchisement.

Instead, there should be a renewed focus on better political education and critical thinking in schools, and better online regulation. This is a great opportunity to get on top of the spread of disinformation online.

Plus, there are plenty of over 18s out there who could benefit from being better at spotting online disinformation.