A New Type of Civic Engagement: The Digital Revolution

This was a recent topic which was brought up in a social studies classroom experience that I was observing. There is a large held notion that youth nowadays are disengaged from civic activism... but is that truly the case?

When posting anything online, we can examine there are significant implications to these actions. When a citizen is able to post a valid opinion online, they automatically have the ability to reach hundreds or even millions of individuals nationally and globally. There are several opportunities provided for citizen journalism and/or social activism that are afforded by social media. Citizens are able to voice their perspective through many mediums including many events or trends/patterns. Some of these mediums include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and various blogging websites.  Some of these events can include world news or global/national/local politics. An example of how politics and the World Wide Web intersect can be seen through “The Digital Revolution, the Informed Citizen, and the Culture of Democracy”. As Henry Jenkins and David Thorburn (2003) explain,

 “…the World Wide Web is already a powerful influence on many aspects of American political life: on the public's access to government documents on candidates' communication with their constituencies, on voters' behavior in elections, on political activists' efforts to circulate their message, and on the topics that enter into national debates among candidates” (Jenkins & Thorburn).

In addition, we can see how a large event such as Fukushima and the nuclear accident was significantly reported on the internet through several mediums:

 “The Internet made an enormous amount of information on Fukushima available, far more than was provided by the media during the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents. While journalists contributed much of the news about Fukushima, citizens actively participated in blogs and on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, exchanging views and directing others to important news articles or videos. The Internet also gave the tra- ditional media many opportunities for better coverage, with more space for articles and the ability to publish interactive graphics and videos" (Friedman , 2011).

Prior to my university experience, I was always convinced that the modern youth are not as engaged in civic events like they used to be in the past. Perhaps I felt this way as the majority of my local youth were disinterested in politics and civic duties and engagements. Throughout my university career, I was surprised to learned that through various classroom experiences, our current youth was found to be definitely still engaged with civic duties and democracy. It is only the forms of engagement that has changed. By this, I mean there are new formats which allow our current youth to be active citizens in order to be civic ally engaged. Through these new formats and forms of engagement (due to advancement in technology and the internet), we can see the emergence of these new opportunities are encouraging youth to participate in more citizen journalism and/or social activism. While many youth are choosing not to use traditional forms of citizen engagement such as voting, they are being active citizens through technology and the internet as a means of civic and democratic engagement. 

 Teachers should connect the social studies curriculum in a meaningful way for students. I encourage all students to be participating more directly in citizen journalism and/or social activism through whichever mode they feel connects to them most. The modern advancements in technology are one of the (and probably the best) most effective tools for change within citizens and the global, national and local states. Please click here for a more comprehensive in depth look at Civic Engagement for "Youth: Indifferent or Just Different? The Political and Civic Engagement of Young People in Canada".