Young People, Social Media, and Political Participation. The Limits of Discursive (In)Civility in the Kenyan Context

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-94
Author(s):  
Martin N. Ndlela
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation

scholarly journals Deliberation or Self-presentation?: Young People, Politics and Social Media

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Storsul
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Political Deliberation ◽  
Group Interviews

Abstract This article presents a study of how politically engaged young people use social media for political purposes. There has been a growing optimism that social media can stimulate political participation and deliberation, especially among young people. Based on focus group interviews with Norwegian teenagers, the article argues that social media have become an important platform for young people to participate in political activities. Whether the purpose is internal meetings or external mobilization, social media provide platforms for planning, reporting and communicating political activities. At the same time, politically engaged young people are hesitant about using social media for political deliberation. They are concerned about how they present themselves, and they are reluctant to stand out as highly political. One important explanation for this is that social media integrate different forms of communication and collapse social contexts. This causes teenagers to delimit controversies and try to keep political discussions to groups with more segregated audiences.

scholarly journals “I don’t like it and I think it’s useless, people discussing politics on Facebook”: Young Swedes’ understandings of social media use for political discussion

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Sveningsson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Western Democracies

Western democracies have seen a decrease in political participation, with young people singled out as the most problematic group. But young people are also the most avid users of online media. It has therefore been argued that online media could be used to evoke their interest in politics, and thus contribute to the reinvigoration of democratic citizenship. Using a mixed qualitative methods approach, this article takes a closer look at 26 young Swedes’ experiences and understandings of social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, as used for political discussions. Compared to the average Swedish 17 to 18-year-olds, the participants are relatively interested in civic and political questions. By focusing on this segment, the article mirrors the experiences of an understudied group – young people who are interested in politics but not engaged. The participants were skeptical about social media as used in relation to politics, and expressed doubts about their suitability and usefulness. Four themes were identified, where three have to do with perceived risks: for conflict, misunderstandings and deceit. The participants also expressed the idea of online political activities as being less authentic than their offline equivalents. The idea that young people want and expect something that political organizations cannot live up to is one of the most dominant discourses that characterize the discussion on youth political participation today. However, while some properties of social media fit well into what young people have been found to prefer, for the participants, negative traits seem to outweigh the positive ones, thus discouraging them from participating.

Semi-Private Spheres as Safe Spaces for Young Social Media Users' Political Conversation

2022 ◽  
pp. 113-132
Author(s):  
Raquel Tarullo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Safe Spaces ◽  
Digital Space ◽  
Political Conversation ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Close Contacts

The incorporation of social media as spaces for political participation performances—especially among youth—has brought various issues into debate, including the formats of these practices and, at the same time, the significances of these repertoires for public conversation. In order to address this topic, this chapter explores the digital practices of political participation among young people in Argentina. Based on a qualitative approach in which 30 in-depth interviews to people from 18 to 24 years old were carried out, the findings of this research note that these segments of the population join the discussion of issues on the public agenda using emojis and hashtags and prefer reduced digital spaces to talk with their close contacts about polarized issues in order to avoid the aggression and violence that they say they observe in the digital space.

Political participation, mobilisation and the internet

2021 ◽  
pp. 111-126
Author(s):  
John Bynner ◽  
Walter R. Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Youth Movements ◽  
Use Of The Internet

Youth prospects are related to the possibility of participating in the political process, including political activism, mobilisation, and the internet. The focus is on political education and engagement in use of the internet, exemplified by the impressive, digitalised campaigns launched internationally on such issues as climate change and saving the planet. Young people perceive the political process as mainly online. Political socialisation takes place via social media where the interest in national and European issue is rather limited. Media competence must be developed early and organised as a ‘toolbox’ for dealing with the character of communications. New youth movements like “Fridays for Future”, however, have mobilised youth to participate in the debate about climate change and young people’s voting preferences in national and EU elections and are also addressed.

Social Media as a Marketing Tool for Political Purpose and Its Implications on Political Knowledge, Participation, and Interest

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-33
Author(s):  
Rakesh Naidu Ganduri ◽  
E. Lokanadha Reddy ◽  
T. Narayana Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Political Purpose ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Interest And Knowledge

Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities these days. In 2018, it is estimated that 2.65 billion people were using social media worldwide and these numbers are expected to reach almost 3.1 billion by 2021, the majority of whom are young people. With some notable exceptions, there are few studies that have been undertaken in the field of politics and social media. This study examines how usage of social media for political purpose influences the voting behavior of the voter in this realm. The authors test the proposition that using social media for political use offers a new pathway to their political participation, interest, and knowledge using path analysis. Results demonstrate that political use of social media impacted both levels of and growth in traditional political participation, interest, and knowledge during the 2019 election.

scholarly journals Dalyvavimas internete: politiškai aktyvus jaunimas ir jo komunikacija socialinėse medijose

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Auškalnienė
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Practice ◽  
Democratic Engagement ◽  
Politically Active

Informacijos ir komunikacijos technologijų plėtra yra viena pagrindinių charakteristikų, apibūdinančių socialinius, kultūrinius, ekonominius XXI a. demokratijos procesus. Fundamentalūs kaitos procesai veikia ir politikos komunikacijos sritį – neišvengiama pokyčių, įsitraukia nauji veikėjai, naudojami nauji įrankiai, kinta komunikacijos įpročiai. Šio straipsnio tikslas – apžvelgti literatūrą, kurioje nagrinėjami iššūkiai bei galimybės, siejamos su piliečių įsitraukimo bei politinio dalyvavimo praktikomis socialiniais tinklais ir ryšiais grindžiamoje virtualiojoje erdvėje. Straipsnyje taip pat pristatomas bandomasis tyrimas, analizuojantis politiškai aktyvių jaunų žmonių demokratinio įsitraukimo praktikas socialinėse medijose. Keliami klausimai aktualūs ir ateities tyrimams bei diskusijoms: ar socialinės medijos galėtų tapti patraukliu kanalu, prisidedančiu aktyvinant jaunų auditorijų politinio bei pilietinio dalyvavimo praktikas?Assessing participation online: Youth and Their Involvement in Social MediaLina Auškalnienė SummaryThe role of political participation and civic engagement as the backbones of modern deliberative democracy is challenged by new opportunities for involvement online. Fundamental societal transformations, facilitated by new technologies, are changing the way we interact, communicate, produce and exchange knowledge. By nature being a bottom-up experiment, social media are more and more involved into the everyday communication practice and become one of the major political communication channels.The purpose of this paper is to review the literature analysing the democratic citizens’ engagement and political participation in the era of the Internet, particularly focusing on the involvement of young people in the decision-making process. Moreover, a pilot case study is presented, reflecting the practices of politically active young individuals in the online communicative space. The data available are analysed to shed some light on the debate and to focus attention on several aspects of youth participation. Looking further, the questions are raised: is the Internet an attractive channel to enhance political interest and discussion among the youngsters? What impact may online communication practice via social media have on civic and political participation of young people offline?Key words: social media, political participation, democratic engagement, political communication, Internet, youth

scholarly journals Media Literacy Dimension in Reinforcing Political Participation Integrity Among Young People in Social Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Nurshahidah Sah Allam ◽  
Mohd Sufiean Hassan ◽  
Abdul Mutalib Mohamed Azim ◽  
Anisafina Maidin ◽  
Siti Najah Raihan Sakrani
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Media Literacy

EFFECT OF DIGITAL COMMUNITY TOWARDS DEMOCRACY PROCESS: DIGITAL PARTISIPATION ANALYSIS IN INDONESIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alih Aji Nugroho
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Digital Society ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Digital Community ◽  
The Government

The world is entering a new phase of the digital era, including Indonesia. The unification of the real world and cyberspace is a sign, where the conditions of both can influence each other (Hyung Jun, 2018). The patterns of behavior and public relations in the virtual universe gave rise to new social interactions called the Digital Society. One part of Global Megatrends has also influenced public policy in Indonesia in recent years. Critical mass previously carried out conventionally is now a virtual movement. War of hashtags, petitions, and digital community comments are new tools and strategies for influencing policy. This paper attempts to analyze the extent of digital society's influence on public policy in Indonesia. As well as what public policy models are needed. Methodology used in this analysis is qualitative descriptive. Data collection through literature studies by critical mass digital recognition in Indonesia and trying to find a relationship between political participation through social media and democracy. By processing the pro and contra views regarding the selection of social media as a level of participation, this paper finds that there are overlapping interests that have the potential to distort the articulation of freedom of opinion and participation. - which is characteristic of a democratic state. The result is the rapid development of digital society which greatly influences the public policy process. Digital society imagines being able to participate formally in influencing policy in Indonesia. The democracy that developed in the digital society is cyberdemocracy. Public space in the digital world must be guaranteed security and its impact on the policies that will be determined. The recommendation given to the government is that a cyber data analyst is needed to oversee the issues that are developing in the digital world. Regulations related to the security of digital public spaces must be maximized. The government maximizes cooperation with related stakeholders.Keywords: Digital Society; Democracy; Public policy; Political Participation

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document