The voting age should stay at 18. In a system as polarizing as the United States’ political system currently is, younger voters are shown to be more easily influenced by social media sources. **Today, more false news is being spread than ever before, promoting potentially false ideas about either party and swaying younger voters toward sides they do not truly believe in. Even many adults fail to double-check what they read online, accepting it at face value and adopting those ideas without verifying sources or examining the actual information to form their own opinions.** Instead, they just listen to what other people tell them and follow word-of-mouth. As most younger people are on social media, they are more susceptible to these influences and are even more likely to double-check a source, instead continuing to scroll. Age gives experience to voters, too, allowing them to observe the political climate and the events ongoing in the world. At 16, I do not believe voters would know their opinions fully yet, or what they are truly voting for.
While the article brings up how both sixteen and seventeen-year-olds can make their own decisions, many fifteen-year-olds can do the same, and even fourteen-year-olds. Younger people can and should make their own decisions, but that does not equate to voting ages. At 18, what the government does influences you more than ever, such as being drafted into war, being subjected to adult consequences via the justice system, and being sued instead of your parents; you can buy or sell property, etc. A 16 or 17-year-old does not face these measures from the government, meaning they have not yet experienced them, and therefore, should not be allowed to vote for them without knowing what it means for them.
