Is Facebook a site of political engagement for young people? | #eHealthPromotion, #SaluteSocial | Scoop.it

Young people may be turning away from traditional sites of politics, but that does not mean that they are apolitical. In a recent co-authored articleAriadne Vromen argues that Facebook is an important site of political engagement for youth in the UK, US and Australia.

There can be little doubt that the institutions and practices of modern representative government have been subject to growing disillusionment from young citizens. A reluctance to vote at elections, join political parties or have a high regard for their politicians, all suggest that many young people are turning away from formal politics in many countries. Instead, engagement in alternative or new forms of political participation point to the possible displacement of traditional models of representative democracy as the dominant cultural form of engagement, by approaches increasingly characterized through networking practices.