"Electric Youth" became one of Gibson's most famous singles of her career, peaking at number eleven on the US Billboard Hot 100, while also entering the top forty in twelve other countries including top ten positions in Israel, the Netherlands, and Panama.

In 2012, Gibson re-recorded the song as "Electric Youth Reloaded", featuring arrangement and rap lyrics by American actor Jace Hall.

[3][4] Unlike the majority of Gibson's songs at the time, which focused on finding or losing love, "Electric Youth" is an anthem with her calling for her generation to be heard.

"[6] The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen noted that it "capture[s] the playfulness of Gibson's music and the carefree feeling of youth.

In 2006, elements of the music video (particularly the silhouette dance clips) were parodied by Cobie Smulders in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother for her character Robin Sparkles' own 1990s ("The 80's didn't come to Canada 'til like '93.