In a bid to get Britain's young people down to the polling station, Channel 4 is hitting them where it hurts – the 8.7 million 16- to 34-year-olds that watch E4 will have to go without on election day. But will depriving Gen Y of their favourite channel be enough to get them to engage with politics?

Australians are set go to the voting booths in July 2016, but almost a million people currently aren't allowed to cast a ballot, with enrolment particularly low among the young. This group's wasted votes could have a big say on the overall outcome of the election – so why aren't they bothering?

Young Brits are politically minded. 70% think social media should be used for social change, and a quarter are highly knowledgable about politics. Yet only 12% would definitely vote in a general election. Why are they so disillusioned? And is engaging via social media the answer?

We’ll swipe for a lover and send big money through an app, but are we ready to poll politics online? Google has patented a voting system on its website that could let you have your say on anything from the X-Factor final to the American presidential election.