Interview: Teen's views on different issues.

Our first interview was with Jacob, a 17 year old male from Sparta, NJ. For some background, Jacob has moved to 4 different schools over the years, as he is in a military family, his father an Army MP, his mother a Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Supervisor. With the backstory covered, lets dive into the interview.

Interviewer: Hello Jacob, my name is ____ and I will be the one Interviewing you today.

Jacob: Hello sir.

Interviewer: So, do you know what I will be asking you about today?

Jacob: Politics and common debates, right?

Interviewer: That is correct, but I will also be asking you about your views on world problems and current crises.

Jacob: Alright, sick.

Interviewer: So, let's start off with an easy one. How do you feel that higher minimum wages will affect local and widespread businesses?

Jacob: Well, we learned in school that higher wages mean employers will look for more qualified candidates for the position. And, more people will be laid off because it will cost too much to have a lot of people working at once.

Interviewer: Yes, that is what the school taught you. I want to know what you think.

Jacob: Oh, well... I think that most minimum wage jobs go to highschoolers and college students, so I don't think it needs to be raised that much.

Interviewer: That much?

Jacob: Well, $13 an hour isn't very much, so minimum wage could have a little bit of adjusting to do, like maybe $14-$14.50 an hour.

Interviewer: Okay, thats a good point. Lets move on.

Jacob: Ok.

Interviewer: What is your honest opinion on President Biden?

Jacob: He's a child, and he's an idiot.

Interviewer: Well, why do you think this?

Jacob: He doesn't think huge decisions through, and he acts like a child.

Interviewer: Can you give me an example of a huge decision?

Jacob: Easy, the Afghanistan evacuation.

Interviewer: Well, how would you have evacuated Afghanistan?

Jacob: Tech, then civilians, then the military.

Interviewer: Interesting. But now can you tell me how he acts like a child?

Jacob: Wasn't there a conference of some sort that he fell asleep in?

Interviewer: Yes.

Jacob: Okay, that and the Presidential debate, where both Biden and Trump were acting like complete dumbasses.

Interviewer: Ok, just a few more questions.

Jacob: Alrighty then.

Interviewer: What are your views on gun control?

Jacob: I think it needs to be more strongly enforced, and the legal age to purchase and carry a firearm should be increased to at least 21.

Interviewer: Oh really? And why so?

Jacob: Because a teenager, like me, is more likely to get upset or try to be flashy with a gun, and that could end badly.

Interviewer: Do you own a gun?

Jacob: I do not.

Interviewer: Well, at first you seemed to be leaning more towards the Republican side, and now you just flipped right over.

Jacob: My views on different things flip between both parties.

Interviewer: Ok, let's finish up here.

Interviewer: Final question, what are your thoughts on Freedom of Prees.

Jacob: I think the Freedom of Press should be supervised and more strict, because just a bit of false information can cause widespread panic. And press is easily corruptable.

Interviewer: Can you give me an example of when the press has given out false information?

Jacob: Easy, spend 5 seconds on Twitter.

Interviewer: Yes, but those are different people with different opinions, most of whom are not real reporters or researchers whose opinions can be backed up with actual facts. I am asking for an example of when the Press; reporters and news anchors spread false information.

Jacob: I don't have an example.

Interviewer: Well, that would bring us to the end of our interview. Thank you for coming.

Jacob: Thank you for having me.

Our next interview was with a 16 year old girl named Erin from Orange County, CA. Erin has lived in Orange County all her life. Her father is a pilot, and her mother is a waiter at a local resturant. She didn't have much of a backstory to tell us, so let's jump right into the interview.

Interviewer: Hello Erin. My name is ___ and I will be interviewing you today about the topics we discussed a few days ago.

Erin: Hi.

Interviewer: Are you ready to get started?

Erin: Yeah.

Interviewer: Great. So, what are your views on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine?

Erin: Why, whats happening there?

Interviewer: Well, Russia is threatening to invade Ukraine.

Erin: Why?

Interviewer: Well, I was hoping you had an idea as to why.

Erin: I don't know.

Interviewer: Then let's just move on.

Throughout the interview, Erin seemed bored with the questions, and she was more focused on her phone then the questions.

Interviewer: So, how do you feel about inflation?

Erin: I don't really care. It doesn't affect me.

Interviewer: But does it affect anyone you know?

Erin: I don't know.

Interviewer: Okay, how about this. What are your views on the rising gas prices?

Erin: I don't know! Why are you asking me all these questions?

Interviewer: You... you're being interviewed. You signed up for this.

Erin: Well, I don't care. I'm leaving.

Interviewer: Is there anything you do care about?

Erin paused, mid getting up from her seat to leave. She seemed stunned by the question. (this is some real movie-like shit)

Erin: Well... I dont...

Interviewer: Erin, you are free to leave at any time, but I just have one more question to ask you.

Erin: O-ok.

Interviewer: Why dont you know what you care about?

Again Erin was stunned. Her mouth was moving as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Interviewer: Well, that is all. You are free to leave.

Erin slowly left, not looking back or saying anything. She just left in a sort of trance.

Our next inteview was with 17 year old James from Milwaukee Wisconson. His mother and father were divorced when he was young, but he was lucky because they both agreed it would be easier on him if they stayed in the same city. His father is a small buisness owner, and his mother is an accountant. Now, enough small talk. Lets dive into it.

Interviewer: Hello James, my name is _____ and I will be interviewing you today.

James reached out to shake our interviewers hand.

James: Hello sir.

Interviewer: Lets start off with a simple question. What do you like to do in your free time?

James: Well, I play video games a lot, and I like to fish and snowboard. Also, I like to just ride around the city on my bike with my airpods in. Its calming to me.

Interviewer: Interesting. So you like to fish?

James: Yes sir.

Interviewer: Ok, so how do you feel about the fact that our lakes, streams, and rivers are being polluted at an alarming rate?

James: Oh it pisses me the hell off. I cannot tell you the ammount of times I thought I had a nice sized fish on, and I pulled it up only to reveal it was a damn McDonalds cup.

Interviewer: Okay, so how do you think we could fix this?

James: Stricter punishments on people who litter, and more use of bio-degratable products.

Interviewer: Interesting. So your saying that we should have stricter punishments on people who litter?

James: Yes.

Interviewer: What are some of the more strict punishments you think would work?

James: Well, for minor littering; like throwing out a coffee cup or McDonalds cup, a $300-$400 fine, but for just hurling out a full garbage bag of garbage, upwards of $10,000 and up to 6 months of community service.

Interviewer: Agreable. But the bio-degratable products, they can cost a lot of money. How would you approach this problem?

James: Well, there really isnt any way to help with those high prices, because of the other countries that produce and sell these products, so I dont have an answer.

Interviewer: Ok. Well I think we are finished here. Thank you for your time.

James reaches out to shake the interviewers hand, then leaves.

The reason we did this interview was to find out how educated todays youth is on current topics. We found(from a very small focus group, please dont forget that) that the most youth is greatly absent minded about current issues. James, who was by far the most interesting to interview, was educated through his personal experience with pollution. Erin was completly uneducated in politics and current situations, and when our Interviewer asked her a pretty deep question, she was stunned. She was more focused on her phone then anything else. Jacob was very fun to interview, as we could tell that he was open minded, and he didn't stick to one parties opinions. He was very honest and open, but we think he was a bit more influenced from social media then the actuall news. Anyways, this was a fun and very very interesting interview, and we may be doing more in the future.

1/08/2022