Civilia 2020, 11(2):4-23 | DOI: 10.5507/civ.2020.006

Disconnected and connected: Youth, News Consumption and Civic Engagement

Marek Šebeš
Katedra společenských věd, Pedagogická fakulta Jihočeské univerzity, U Tří lvů 1/A, 371 15 České Budějovice

This summarizing study examines how contemporary young people use news and news media and how is this news consumption related to the level of their civic engagement. While the findings of many studies suggest that today's youth are not interested in current affairs news at all, others show a more complicated picture: young people have not lost interest in current affairs, but they differ in their access to information and in the way they move in the media environment. The study discusses the reasons for this media behavior and the implication for civic engagement of the young generation.

Keywords: News consumption, Civic engagement, Citizenship, Youth, Civic socialization, News Media, Social media

Published: December 15, 2020  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Šebeš, M. (2020). Disconnected and connected: Youth, News Consumption and Civic Engagement. Civilia11(2), 4-23. doi: 10.5507/civ.2020.006
Download citation

References

  1. AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. Civic engagement [online]. APA, 2009 [cit 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: https://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/civic-engagement.
  2. BANYAN, M. Civic engagement [online]. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2016 [cit 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: https://www.britannica.com/topic/civic-engagement.
  3. BARNHURST, K. 1998. "Politics in the Fine Meshes: Young Citizens, Power and the Media." Media, Culture & Society, 1998, Vol. 20, Nr. 2, pp. 201-218. Go to original source...
  4. BAUMGARTNER, J, MORRIS, J. "MyFaceTube politics: Social networking web sites and political engagement of young adults." Social Science Computer Review, 2010, Vol. 28, Nr. 1, pp. 24-44. Go to original source...
  5. BAUERLEIN, M. The Dumbest Generation-How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future. London: Penguin Books, 2008.
  6. BENNETT, W. L. "Civic learning in changing democracies: challenges for citizenship and civic education." In DAHLGREN, P. (ed.) Young citizens and new media: learning democratic engagement. New York: Routledge, 2007, pp. 59-77.
  7. BENNETT, W. L. "Changing citizenship in the digital age". In BENNETT, W. L. (ed.) Civic life online. Learning how digital media can engage youth. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008, pp. 1-24. Go to original source...
  8. BLEKESAUNE, A., ELVESTAD, E., AALBERG, T. "Tuning out the World of News and Current Affairs - An Empirical Study of Europe's Disconnected Citizens." European Sociological Review, 2010, 28(1), pp. 110-126. Go to original source...
  9. BOCZKOWSKI, P., MITCHELSTEIN, E., MATASSI, M. "News Comes across When I'm in a Moment of Leisure': Understanding the Practices of Incidental News Consumption on Social Media." New Media & Society, 2018, 20(10), pp. 3523-3539. Go to original source...
  10. BOYD, M., ZAFF, J., PHELPS, E., WEINER, M., LERNER, R. "The relationship between adolescents' news media use and civic engagement: The indirect effect of interpersonal communication with parents." Journal of adolescence, 2011, 34(6), pp. 1167-1179. Go to original source...
  11. BUCKINGHAM, D. "Young people, politics and news media: Beyond political socialisation." Oxford Review of Education, 1999, 25(1-2), pp. 171-184. Go to original source...
  12. CLARK, L., MARCHI, R. Young People and the Future of News: Social Media and the Rise of Connective Journalism. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Go to original source...
  13. CONDEZA, R., BACHMANN-CÁCERES, I., MUJICA-HOLLEY, C. "News consumption among Chilean adolescents: Interest, motivations and perceptions on the news agenda." Comunicar, 2014, Vol. 22, Nr. 43, pp. 55-64. Go to original source...
  14. COSTERA MEIJER, I. "The Paradox of Popularity: How Young People Experience the News." Journalism Studies, 2007, 8(1), pp. 96-116. Go to original source...
  15. CURRAN, J., IYENGAR, S., BRINK LUND, A., SALOVAARA-MORING, I. "Media system, public knowledge and democracy: A comparative study." European Journal of Communication, 2009, Vol. 24, Nr. 1, pp. 5-26. Go to original source...
  16. DELLI CARPINI, M. "Gen.com: Youth, civic engagement, and the new information environment." Political Communication, 2000, Vol. 17, Nr. 4, pp. 341-349. Go to original source...
  17. DROK, N., HERMANS, L., KATS, K. "Decoding youth DNA: The relationship between social engagement and news interest, news media use and news preferences of Dutch millennials." Journalism, 2018, Vol. 19, Nr. 5, pp. 699-717. Go to original source...
  18. EDGERLY, S., VRAGA, E., BODE, L., THORSON, K., THORSON, E. "New media, new relationship to participation? A closer look at youth news repertoires and political participation." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2018, Vol. 95, Nr. 1, pp. 192-212. Go to original source...
  19. ELVESTAD, E., BLEKESAUNE, A., AALBERG, T. The Polarized News Audience? A Longitudinal Study of News-Seekers and News-Avoiders in Europe [online]. Paper presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, 2014 [cit. 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2469713. Go to original source...
  20. FLANAGAN, C., LEVINE, P. "Civic engagement and the transition to adulthood." The Future of Children, 2010, Vol. 20, Nr. 1, pp. 159-179. Go to original source...
  21. GEERS, S. "News Consumption across Media Platforms and Content: A Typology of Young News Users." Public Opinion Quarterly, 2020, Vol. 84, Nr. S1, pp. 332-354. Go to original source...
  22. GIL DE ZÚÑIGA, H., DIEHL, T. "News finds me perception and democracy: Effects on political knowledge, political interest, and voting." New media & society, 2019, Vol. 21, Nr. 6, pp. 1253-1271. Go to original source...
  23. HAO, X., WEN, N., GEORGE, C. "News consumption and political and civic engagement among young people." Journal of Youth Studies, 2014, Vol. 17, Nr. 9, pp. 1221-1238. Go to original source...
  24. HENN, M., FOARD, N. "Young people, political participation and trust in Britain." Parliamentary Affairs, 2012, Vol. 65, Nr. 1, pp. 47-67. Go to original source...
  25. HOFFMAN, L., THOMSON, T. "The effect of television viewing on adolescents' civic participation: Political efficacy as a mediating mechanism." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2009, Vol. 53, Nr. 1, pp. 3-21. Go to original source...
  26. HOLT, K., SHEHATA, A., STRÖMBÄCK, J., LJUNGBERG, E. "Age and the effects of news media attention and social media use on political interest and participation: Do social media function as leveller?" European journal of communication, 2013, Vol. 28, Nr. 1, pp. 19-34. Go to original source...
  27. HUANG, E. "The causes of youths' low news consumption and strategies for making youths happy news consumers." Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 2009, Vol. 15, Nr. 1, pp. 105-122. Go to original source...
  28. IPSOS TAMBOR. Informovanost a participace mládeže. Zpráva z výzkumu [online]. Praha: Národní institut dětí a mládeže, 2009 [cit. 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: http://www.vyzkum-mladez.cz/zprava/1259754857.pdf.
  29. JAKUBOWICZ, K. Nová ekologie médií. Konvergence a mediamorfóza. Zlín: Verbum, 2013.
  30. KOHUT, A. Pew surveys of audience habits suggest perilous future for news [online]. Poynter, 2013 [cit 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: http://www.poynter.org/news/pew-surveys-audience-habits-suggest-perilous-future-news.
  31. KRAMP, L. "'We Need to Keep Moving': Strategies of News Media to Attract Young Audiences in Germany." In TOSONI, S., CARPENTIER, N., MURRU, M., KILBORN, R., KRAMP, L., KUNELIUS, R., MCNICHOLAS, A., OLSSON, T., PRUULMANN-VENGERFELDT, P. (eds.) Present Scenarios of Media Production and Engagement. Bremen: Edition Lumière, 2017, pp. 107-122.
  32. KRAMP, L., WEICHERT, S. "Millennials, die unbekannten Wesen: Wie journalistische Medien und Nachrichtenangebote junge Menschen im digitalen Zeitalter erreichen - und was sie von ihnen lernen." In OTTO, K., KÖHLER, A. (eds.) Crossmedialität im Journalismus und in der Unternehmenskommunikation. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2018, pp. 269-290. Go to original source...
  33. KRUIKEMEIER, S., SHEHATA, A. "News media use and political engagement among adolescents: An analysis of virtuous circles using panel data." Political Communication, 2017, 34(2), pp. 221-242. Go to original source...
  34. LEE, S., XENOS, M. "Social distraction? Social media use and political knowledge in two US Presidential elections." Computers in human behavior, 2019, 90, pp. 18-25. Go to original source...
  35. LOPEZ, M., LEVINE, P., BOTH, D., KIESA, A., KIRBY, E., MARCELO, K. The 2006 civic and political health of the nation: A detailed look at how youth participate in politics and communities [online]. CIRCLE, 2006 [cit 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: https://www.issuelab.org/resources/929/929.pdf.
  36. MACEK, J., MACKOVÁ, A., ŠKAŘUPOVÁ, K., WASCHKOVÁ CÍSAŘOVÁ, L. Stará a nová média v každodennosti českých publik (výzkumná zpráva) [online]. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2015 [cit 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: https://webcentrum.muni.cz/media/3081320/stara_a-nova_media_v-kazdodennosti-ceskych_publik.pdf.
  37. MADDEN, M., LENHART, A., FONTAINE, C. How Youth Navigate the News Landscape [online]. Knight Foundation, 2017 [cit. 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: https://kf-site-production.s3.amazonaws.com/publications/pdfs/000/000/230/original/Youth_News.pdf.
  38. MARCHI, R. "With Facebook, blogs, and fake news, teens reject journalistic 'objectivity'." Journal of Communication Inquiry, 2012, Vol. 36, Nr. 3, pp. 246-262. Go to original source...
  39. MCLEOD, J. "Media and civic socialization of youth." Journal of Adolescent Health, 2000, Vol. 27, Nr. 2, pp. 45-51. Go to original source...
  40. MINDICH, D. Tuned out: Why Americans under 40 don't follow the news. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Go to original source...
  41. MITCHELL, A., GOTTFRIED, J., BARTHEL, M., SHEARER, E. The Modern News Consumer: News Attitudes and Practices in the Digital Era [online]. Pew Research Center, 2016 [cit. 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: http://www.journalism.org/2016/07/07/the-modern-news-consumer.
  42. NADAČNÍ FOND NEZÁVISLÉ ŽURNALISTIKY. Češi a zpravodajství [online]. Praha: Nadační fond nezávislé žurnalistiky, 2018 [cit. 27. 9. 2020]. Dostupné z: http://www.mapamedii.cz/segmenty/index.php.
  43. PALFREY, J., GASSER, U. Born digital: Understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York: Basic Books, 2018.
  44. PATTERSON, T. Young People and News. Cambridge, MA: Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, 2007.
  45. PUTNAM, R. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Go to original source...
  46. ROBB, M. News and America's kids: How young people perceive and are impacted by the news. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense, 2017.
  47. SHAH, D., MCLEOD, J., LEE, N. "Communication competence as a foundation for civic competence: Processes of socialization into citizenship." Political Communication, 2009, Vol. 26, Nr. 1, pp. 102-117. Go to original source...
  48. SHEHATA, A. "News Habits Among Adolescents: The Influence of Family Communication on Adolescents' News Media Use - Evidence From a Three-Wave Panel Study." Mass Communication and Society, 2016, Vol. 19, Nr. 6, pp. 758-781. Go to original source...
  49. SHEHATA, A., STRÖMBÄCK, J. "Learning political news from social media: Network media logic and current affairs news learning in a high-choice media environment." Communication Research, 2018, doi: 10.1177/0093650217749354. Go to original source...
  50. SCHUDSON, M. The good citizen: A history of American civic life. New York: Free Press, 1998.
  51. SVENINGSSON, M. ",It's only a pastime, really': Young people's experiences of social media as a source of news about public affairs." Social Media + Society, 2015, Vol. 1, Nr. 2, pp. 1-11. Go to original source...
  52. PAPATHANASSOPOULOS, S., COEN, S., CURRAN, J., AALBERG, T., ROWE, D., JONES, P., ROJAS, H., TIFFEN, R. "Online Threat, But Television is Still Dominant." Journalism Practice, 2013, Vol. 7, Nr.6, pp. 690-704. Go to original source...
  53. VAN CAUWENBERGE, A., D'HAENENS, L., BEENTJES, H. "Young people's news orientations and uses of traditional and new media for news." The European Journal of Communication Research, 2013, 38(4), pp. 367-388. Go to original source...
  54. WATTENBERG, M. Is voting for young people? 3rd Edition. New York: Routledge, 2016. Go to original source...
  55. WONNEBERGER, A., KIM, S. J. "TV news exposure of young people in changing viewing environments: A longitudinal, cross-national comparison using people-meter data." International Journal of Communication, 2017, 11, pp. 72-93.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.