As young Canadians continue to be no-shows at the polls, a group of researchers asked them why they were shying away from voting … on Facebook.Usually, social-science researchers probing opinions and motivations use focus groups. However, some young people don’t feel comfortable sitting around a table, knowing there’s someone watching behind the two-way glass.

So political scientists from the University of Toronto and Carleton University went to Facebook to recruit and track the opinions of a group of 33 young potential voters between the ages of 18 and 26 in last fall’s election.

They got an earful.

In contrast to older generations, young people don’t buy into the idea that they have a civic duty to vote, especially if they have ethical objections to the way politicians behave or if they feel they don’t know enough to make an informed choice, said Lawrence LeDuc, a U of T professor and one of the researchers.

They are also very accepting if their peers choose not to vote.

“We got the message, ‘It’s OK not to vote,’” said LeDuc, who presented the findings with his colleagues Wednesday at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at Carleton.

Overall turnout in federal elections has dropped from about 75 per cent in the 1970s and 1980s to a historic low of 59 per cent last fall.

Youth participation is even lower. While more than three-quarters of voters over the age of 60 will cast ballots — and many who don’t feel guilty about it — only about one-quarter of first-time eligible voters will cast a ballot, LeDuc said.

If the researchers wanted frank opinions, Facebook was the right medium to seek it. One young woman who was not inclined to vote noted: “We don’t talk about politics any more than the occasional ‘Harper is creepy-looking.’ Or ‘Maybe we shouldn’t be in Afghanistan. Yeah. Hmmm. How about sushi tonight?’”

The researchers found those most likely to vote also believed that citizens had both rights and responsibilities.

Some of those who were least likely to vote were “both deferential and tuned out” and were content with the government taking a larger role.

While many recognized that voting was good, some argued that citizens could act any way they liked. Others said they didn’t know enough and believed others would make the right choice.

“I trust the rest of the society has the same interests as me, they are probably more informed than I am, and I’ll leave it up to them to make an informed decision without me going there and guessing,” one young man said.

LeDuc says the decline in youth participation is not unique to Canada. Similar patterns are seen in Britain, Japan and even countries with traditionally high turnout, such as Sweden and Germany.

“This group of younger people will vote,” he said, “but they will do it slowly and do it more lightly.”