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Cultural Displacement or Disaffection?
Reassessing Young Citizens, New Media and Civic
Engagement
Brian D. Loader
University of York, UK
Overview of Young Citizens & Civic Engagement in New
Media Age• Explore issues within a binary
framework - disaffection/ cultural displacement
• Not exhaustive and may not be robust• Former more conservative/liberal, latter
associated with radical democratic models.
Disaffection Perspective
• Orthodox political theory regards young citizens as ‘disaffected’
• Low voter turnout, don’t join parties & low opinion of politicians
• Ironically such perceived apathy exists when young people have more access to political information.
Cultural Displacement
• Young people may not be disaffected with politics but may be displaced from formal political sphere.
• Disjuncture between trad. Political activity which are restrictive & modes of expression which privilege identity (Giddens), lifestyle diversity, individualisation & liquidity (Bauman)
Contrasts
• Disaffected emphasizes formal politics - Displacement focusses upon broad view of the political
• Displacement foregrounds diversity, identity, contestation rather than essentialist notions of citizenship & community
• Displacement therefore acknowledges that young people are heterogenious and subject to unequal power relations - reflected in digital divide.
Mobilization & Socialisation
• Two approaches produce contrasting directions for engaging young people.
• Disaffection - no significant change in political style is required - new media can be used to re-connect young people - Retain the old and change young people
• Citizenship education, politicians iPod playlists and celebrity TV performances
Contemporary Youth Culture
• Displacement - trad politics contrasts with self expression, personal disclosure of youth culture media environment - Myspace, Facebook, Flikker, texting & blogging
• These spaces/places are also political?
(Beck’s subpolitics?) Not displacement from the real world of politics but displacement of trad politics by new political cultures.
Displacement as Aspiration?
• E-dem has been disappointing• Evidence for online engagement may be thin
- Livingstone• Displacement may be more characterized by
social fragmentation & escapism rather than new forms of activism.
• New media may foster easy exit, consumer democracy.
Towards Radical Model of Engagement?
• Such a model would require transformation of political system itself.
• Enables variety of spaces/places which include civil, market and state at different levels?
• Not displacement into dreamland or replacement of rep. politics but re-articulation of democratic relations
• New network spaces for efficacy?
Community Network Spaces?
• Local democratic spaces – national too remote
• Diverse social backgrounds may need local understandings
• Interactivity may be more likely at local level
• Political stakeholders responding to community spaces
Citizenship Education Spaces
• E-Mock Elections
• Content Creation – videos, digital art, music
• Humour
• Genuine engagement with stake holders – power, respect, responsibility & deliberation
Re-articulating democratic engagement
• Citizenship Ed. needs to address new media orientated youth culture
• Global/national issues more relevant when localised
• Not just schools but also…
• …local network spaces