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The best proxy for "interest in politics", specifically, would seem to be voter turnout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_the_United_States_presid

The best proxy for "interest in politics", specifically, would seem to be voter turnout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_the_United_States_presidential_elections#Turnout_statistics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_the_United_St... That data shows only modest changes since 1940, and no discernible decline in the last decade or so. If anything, turnout was lower in the 80s and 90s, slightly higher in the 60s.

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jjulius 8y ago
I feel like I understand what you're getting at with that data as it pertains to "interest in politics" at a general level, but I'm not sure how you intend to use that data in this specific conversation. OP and I are wondering how we get the general populous to invest quality time in educating themselves about the news/politics, subjects many people don't care about. How does the data you provided correlate with that conversation?
- matt4077 8y ago
  I don't know how much more data I should offer, while your and OP's position is basically "everything was better in the past". The New York Times has seen subscriptions quadruple from 1988 to today. (two charts needed for this timespan: https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/oimg.png https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/oimg.png and https://secondmeasure.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NYT-Chart-1f.png https://secondmeasure.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NYT-Cha...)
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_cs2017_ 8y ago
I didn't say people had "no interest in politics". I said people had "no interest in being informed or educated". A large voter turnout indicates interest in politics. A large voter turnout does not indicate interest in being informed or educated. I think it's pretty obvious. But just in case, here's an example: - Voter turnout in the US Presidential Elections 1996-2016 : 53-64%. - Voter turnout in German Federal Elections 1933: 88.7% (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1933_German_federal_election#Results https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1933_German_federal_elec...). I am sure you would not consider the electorate that chose the Nazis (giving them by far the largest share, 44%) to be more informed / educated than the modern US electorate.

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jjulius 8y ago

I feel like I understand what you're getting at with that data as it pertains to "interest in politics" at a general level, but I'm not sure how you intend to use that data in this specific conversation. OP and I are wondering how we get the general populous to invest quality time in educating themselves about the news/politics, subjects many people don't care about. How does the data you provided correlate with that conversation?

matt4077 8y ago
I don't know how much more data I should offer, while your and OP's position is basically "everything was better in the past". The New York Times has seen subscriptions quadruple from 1988 to today. (two charts needed for this timespan: https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/oimg.png https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/oimg.png and https://secondmeasure.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NYT-Chart-1f.png https://secondmeasure.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/NYT-Cha...)
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_cs2017_ 8y ago

I didn't say people had "no interest in politics". I said people had "no interest in being informed or educated". A large voter turnout indicates interest in politics. A large voter turnout does not indicate interest in being informed or educated. I think it's pretty obvious. But just in case, here's an example: - Voter turnout in the US Presidential Elections 1996-2016 : 53-64%. - Voter turnout in German Federal Elections 1933: 88.7% (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1933_German_federal_election#Results https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1933_German_federal_elec...). I am sure you would not consider the electorate that chose the Nazis (giving them by far the largest share, 44%) to be more informed / educated than the modern US electorate.