Turnout for the European elections last week averaged 43.1%. Voters – particularly those under-30 – are angry with politicians and are staying at home because of it, polls suggest.

Does the political class need to find a new way to engage with a younger and more digital demographic?

Two thirds of under 25s say that that politicians could win their votes if they delivered their manifestos on social media and that politics would be easier to understand in this format, recent research by OnePoll and youth charity vInspired suggests. The next general election may be won or lost on social media.

The idea has taken off in the Netherlands, where both politicians and citizens have been posting "stemfies" on twitter - pictures of themselves in the polling booth, with a hashtag that combines the word "selfie" and "stemmen", the Dutch word meaning "to vote".

While the Electoral Reform Society were delighted with this "fun addition to the voting day ritual, especially for young people less likely to vote", the UK's Electoral Commission did not approve, swiftly announcing that snapping a selfie in the polling booth could well be illegal.

Whether or not the "stemfie" highlights the underlying impact of increasing youth voter apathy is up for debate. Since the last general election, youth unemployment in the eurozone has reached record highs and research shows that the resulting crisis is not only economic, but a mental health issue. The Hansard Society suggest that youth turnout at next year's British general election could be as low as 12%, down from 30% in 2011, and research by IPPR shows that non-voters have suffered more in the cuts and suggests that making voting compulsory for first timers could be a solution...