It’s been barely two weeks since the inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States, and there has been little time wasted in bringing about change to the country.

It’s been a lot of information to absorb, almost too much. And following a very intense election cycle last year, where it was almost impossible to consume a piece of news media without hearing about anything related to presidential candidacy, students may be starting to feel a hint of political burnout.

Political burnout is the feeling of being so overwhelmed by political news media that it leads to exhaustion in regards to consuming said media. Throughout the timeline leading up to the 2024 presidential election, the American Psychology Association reported that 69% of adults in the United States were facing a great deal of stress due to the impending presidential election. The most common cause of stress, however, at 77% was the future of the country.

When it comes down to college students’ feelings on politics, there’s quite a variety of answers. There are students who barely pay attention to the news at all, as there are students who can’t help but worry about the future of the nation in which they reside.

“I feel like it’s a lot to process. I’m doing this all for the future, but the future is continuously and rapidly changing. How can I rely on a future with so much uncertainty?“ Abbigail Cerino, a junior communications student at Rowan said.

For college students, political news is everywhere. They see it through commercials on TV, on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, or maybe they even hear it in passing on campus. There’s no completely escaping it, and though it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it becomes a major issue when it’s all they hear.

“It’s seeping into everyone’s lives now because it’s becoming inevitable that it’s going to be everyone’s problem, which I think is what is scary for a lot of people,” said Savannah Pelletier, a junior at Rowan who’s studying to become an educator.

The topic of politics has notoriously divided Americans since the country was founded in the late 1700s, and based on how close the 2024 presidential election was, there still remains quite a large split.

“I don’t really find myself getting burned out on politics. I actually really enjoy hearing about it. I do think that it’s a little ridiculous, though, some of the things that Trump’s been doing,” said Jayden Parente, a junior journalism major.

So far, since Jan. 20, Trump has pulled the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO), banned Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) jobs and programs within the federal government, put a temporary freeze on federal funding, and reversed policies that Joe Biden’s administration had previously put into effect regarding transgender people and their ability to access gender-affirming care, according to an article from The Guardian. And that’s only naming a few of the actions that Trump’s taken.

“Why go to school when my actual career is being attacked?“ Pelletier said. “As a queer person, and as a person who’s going to school to be an educator, obviously there’s some immediate things that are problematic for me with where our country’s going.”

The level of burnout the youth of our nation is approaching could be dangerous going forward. A lack of care and knowledge about politics, no matter how terrifying or aggravating it may feel at times, can be costly, especially when it begins to affect those who choose to stay in the dark. 

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