I am not going to get into any comprehensive analysis of the Harvard IOP and MTV/CBS surveys, but there are a few themes that I want to cover. For more analysis check out Future Majority.

Facebook and MySpace

Once again Facebook is the social network of choice for college students, while MySpace is more popular among non-college students. Facebook beats MySpace when it comes to political use, with 23% of respondents using the site politically to MySpace’s 11%.

Facebook increased in popularity and political use from 2006. I think this is likely a result of the changes Facebook made: opening the site to anyone, and opening the Facebook platform to third-party developers. These applications have increased the opportunities for Facebook users to engage politically. In the last week MySpace opened up its developer platform, so applications will be on the way and could increase the level of political use.

Campaign Volunteering

56% of 18-24 year olds stated that they would volunteer for the campaign they supported if they were provided the opportunity (12% Very, 44% Somewhat).

What is interesting is the difference between the Democratic candidates and John McCain. There is a 10% difference between Clinton/Obama and McCain. This indicates that young people voting Democrat are more willing to volunteer on a campaign than young people voting Republican.

Youth are Issue-Oriented and Want Issues Addressed

In the wake of the disastrous ABC/National Enquirer debate, youth are hungry for the discussion of the actual issues that “professional” journalists are not giving them.

• 65% say there is too much focus on race and gender.
• 65% say too little time is spent on jobs and opportunities for young workers.
• 47% say too little time is spent on global warming.
• 65% say too little time is spent on reducing oil and gas use.
• 59% say too little time is spent on education.
• 57% say too little time is spent on increased college costs and student loans/financial aid.
• The top issues are the economy (33%), Iraq (25%), education (9%), health care (9%), terrorism (8%), and the environment (7%).

In other words, if young people were asking the questions we would probably have a substantial debate.

Democrats More Concerned About Youth

Young people believe that the Democratic candidates are more concerned about the problems facing them than John McCain.

Young Voters Are More Convinced of Their Influence

67% of respondents felt that their generation would have as much or more influence than other generations this election, up from 53% last June.

Nader Pulls More Young People From McCain than Dems

Between Obama and McCain, there is no difference between the margin with Nader in the race, Obama winning by 21% in both situations.

Between Clinton and McCain, Clinton improves from 5% to 7% over McCain with Nader in the race.

Are there any interesting themes that you noticed in these surveys? Leave a comment.