Political Burnout: Many People Are Feeling Tired of Politics

Politics can be exhausting. After an election, excitement fades, and many people feel burnt out from constant news and debates. I already feel it, and I know many students do too.

One of the reasons for burnout is the way news and social media create an “us vs. them” mentality. News based on fear makes people anxious, but too much of it leaves us feeling helpless. Psychology experts say fear makes us want to follow political news, but too much fear makes us exhausted.

Many people are feeling stuck in “information bubbles,” where different news channels show completely different views of the same country. A 2022 Pew survey showed that 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats believe people from the other party are “more immoral” than the average American.
Social media only adds to the problem, making political arguments worse. The negativity is tiring.

Students Speak About Political Burnout

Students across the country are feeling this exhaustion.

Riley Lynch, a student at the University of Oregon, said, “With everything happening in the country, I feel truly burnt out.” After the inauguration, she saw so much bad and shocking news that it was overwhelming.

“It’s hard to keep up with the news when it makes me feel hopeless about the future,” she said. “All the political content has made me tired of reading the news.”

Student of St. John’s University, Alex Freeman: “I got political burnout when I was old enough to understand politics. When I have to sit down and watch misreporting and bad reporting or hear the same topics over weeks, I lose hope.

To Freeman, “the system that tells you all about how everybody should get together is, at the end of the day, a system set up to create division”.

Grace Bambabte is a political science student at the University of Utah. She learned about politics for the first time when she was in high school. “It hasn’t been that long, but I already feel burnt out,” she said.

“It feels like if you’re not in the top 1% of wealth, your opinion doesn’t really matter,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like the government cares about our best interests.”

Politics Still Affects EveryoneThis feeling of exhaustion is across the country. Elections are stressful, and even those who love politics feel drained.

But ignoring politics is not the solution.

You don’t have to check the news all the time, but it’s important to stay aware of what’s happening. Whether people agree or disagree, it’s clear that political norms are changing.

Even though we are all sick of politics, it will still impact us, whether we are paying attention or not.