Young People, ICTs and Democracy

The rhetoric on the Internet and its potential implications for the sphere of politics have been especially pertinent in regard to young people. Through the use of notions such as ”the e-generation” or ”the messenger generation”, the new ICT’s supposed transformative potential has been identified and discussed. Just based on the title of this book, it might seem as if we are offering a similar approach here – speculative reflections on the significance of the Internet for young people’s engagement and participation.

However, the reader expecting discussions on how the various generations of the Web have turned the political and democratic world upside down will be disappointed. What this book offers instead are theoretical reflections on the Internet’s civic potential: analyses of policy concerns connected to its development, and elusive case studies of civic websites as well as young people’s everyday Web practices. Basically, the chapters in this book seek to analyze rather than mythologize the Internet’s political implications for young people.

The publication is available in electronic version (pdf-format), the printed version is out of stock.

Content

Foreword

Introduction
Tobias Olsson, Peter Dahlgren

Part I Theories

Re-imagining Democracy. New Media, Young People, Participation and Politics
Natalie Fenton

Purchasing or Protesting? Expanding the Notion of the (Online) Citizen Consumer
Janelle Ward

The Reception of the “Produsers’” Films on a Participatory Website. Ordinary Young People and the Politics of Banality
Nico Carpentier

Part II Policies

Making Citizens Online. From Virtual Boyscouts to Activist Networks
Stephen Coleman

As the World Spunks. Does Internet Help to Transform Youth Journalism?
Linda Duits, Liesbet van Zoonen, Fadi Hirzalla

Media Literacy/Competence, Participation and Youth. Conceptual Reflections 2.0
Maren Hartmann

Part III Identities and Practices

The Internet and Subactivism. Cultivating Young Citizenship in Everyday Life
Maria Bakardjieva

Everyday Life and the Internet in Diaspora Families. Girls Tell their Stories
Ingegerd Rydin, Ulrika Sjöberg

Young Political E-partners of Turkey
Asli Telli Aydemir, Bilge Selen Apak

Part IV Websites

Spectators, Visitors and Actors. Addressing Young Citizens in Politics Online
Ulf Buskqvist

Young Men, ICTs and Sports. Fan Cultures and Civic Cultures
Anders Svensson

Invited but Ignored. How www.ungtval.se Aimed to Foster but Failed to Promote Young Engagement
Fredrik Miegel, Tobias Olsson

The Authors