Are young Aussies self-absorbed? Their keenness to volunteer says otherwise

In 2023, young Aussies picked up the dwindling torch for the volunteering sector yet faced various barriers that stunted their ability to become involved in a higher volume of such organised activities.

Last year, 73 per cent of young Australians aged 18 to 24 volunteered in organised activities at least once over those previous 12 months. However, 86 per cent of young Aussies were subjected to various barriers when attempting to become involved with organised activities on issues that were important to them.

These statistics were revealed through a new discussion paper presented by the Monash Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice, which explores the positive opportunities that volunteering offers young people.

“Young people continue to be painted in stereotypes that depict them as disengaged or self-absorbed. Our research on their attitudes to volunteering and civic participation shows that these are untrue. Instead, we identify how engagement in shaping a young person’s world through volunteering is good for their wellbeing and society in general,” said Professor Lucas Walsh, co-author of the report.

Self-absorption is a commonly painted narrative that is thrust upon young people across Australia, but the report says otherwise. It highlights that there are various motivations for young people who are increasing their volunteering, which are often not just for themselves.

Affecting change and trying to make a difference in what is seemingly becoming a worsening environmental and political climate was pinpointed as a real motivator for young Aussies getting involved in volunteering.

“You don’t have to just sit on the sidelines. You can do something about it; you do have an agency. You can get involved with charity, and even if you only do a little bit, it does matter. Individual bricks make up a house, right? That’s my perspective,” said a respondent.

Another major driver for the recent uptick in young people seeking opportunities to volunteer can be the correlation between mental health and participation in volunteering. A connection was drawn in the report between young people’s anxiety, volunteering, and wellbeing.

Young people who experience higher political anxiety, for example, are more likely to actively involve themselves in voluntary activities. At the same time, becoming involved in voluntary activities can have a positive effect on your overall wellbeing.

There are also obvious career progression advantages that having experiences of volunteering can have. As highlighted in the report through a respondent’s comments: “Every single time I went for a grad program interview … they didn’t ask once about university, they wanted to know what I was doing in volunteering.”

Employers value experiences in volunteering, as it highlights that the individual’s mindset isn’t strictly based on monetary aspects and, instead, they have passions and interests in giving back in some way, shape, or form.

Despite these passionate reasons for wanting to involve themselves in volunteering activities, various obstacles are proving to be a detriment for a number of young people when it comes to increasing said involvement in volunteering.

Lack of support, lack of time, bureaucratic obstacles, and not being taken seriously were just some of the obstacles pointed out by young Aussies for why their involvement in volunteering wasn’t higher.

For the lack of time, one respondent said: “I would like to be quite a bit more politically involved. I spend way too much time working, and I don’t have the effort to truly put in as much as I would like … I’d like to be more so, but there’s not much opportunity to [be] where I am.”

In terms of the “not being taken seriously”, one respondent cited a communication breakdown as the crux of the issue: “I think it’s taking a long time for governments and agencies to realise that my generation, as such, interact a lot more online and does things differently to how things have been done before.”

“I don’t know how to peg that as an issue, but it’s just that [the] barrier of communication is blocked, which I think is why our voices aren’t coming across.”

The persistence of such barriers prevents young people from engaging in a meaningful activity that not only benefits them on a number of levels, but has a huge impact on their community and society as a whole.

“Young Australians want to get involved, but many face barriers to their participation. Rather than viewing young people as disengaged, these barriers must be understood and mitigated,” said lead author Dr Thuc Bao Huynh.

As volunteering dips throughout Australia, dismantling these simplistic barriers to ensure that young Aussies who want to carry the torch of volunteering have the opportunity to do so is crucial.