Does the average young person have a firm understanding of political issues in your opinion?

Every election cycle we hear how the young people are going to make a difference. Every election cycle the young vote does not materialize. Does the average young person actually have a firm understanding of all the ramification of their voting choices, or do they just respond idealistically to hype carried out in their names? Will they turn out this November? Or is it more likely that we will see the same trends as in previous Presidential elections regarding this demographic.