Discerning but Silent? How Different Civic Learning Opportunities Contribute to Youth Engagement With Civic Issues on Social Media

• In Event: Teaching and Engaging With Students' Emotions as They Navigate Social Media

Abstract

Objective
This study examines the influence of two different forms of civic education on youth online political expression–education for online research, which focuses on cognitive evaluation of media vs. education for online political expression, which focuses on socio-emotional considerations with engaging with civic media.

Perspectives and Theoretical Frameworks
Participatory democratic theories emphasize the importance of the free flow of information among citizens for building the shared understanding of common concerns and differences that are crucial for democratic functioning (Dewey, 1916). Current research suggests social media can both facilitate this flow by reducing barriers to information sharing (Cohen & Kahne, 2012) and harm it by encouraging the spread of misinformation (Allcott et al, 2019).

Recent interventions have emerged to help youth evaluate online information (Wineburg et al, 2022). However, as they learn to be cautious consumers of civic media, youth can shy away from political expression. Our previous work found social emotional concerns (e.g. fear of conflict, potential to help/harm others) play an important role in youth decisions to engage in online expression (Authors, 2021; 2022). Thus, the current study focuses on youth capacities for critical consumption and political expression via social media and examines which kinds of civic learning opportunities are supportive of these capacities.

Methods & Data Sources
We conducted a survey of n=704 youth aged 15-24 in which participants were presented with a series of real Instagram posts on the topic of climate change and asked to rate their level of interest in reading, endorsing, sharing or commenting on the post. Posts varied by source (institutional vs. activist account), type of evidence (opinion, opinion + numerical evidence, opinion + numerical evidence + citation) and calls to action (individual vs. policy).

Independent variables included participants’ self-reported exposure to education for online research and education for online political expression. Controls for age, gender, race and ethnicity, parent education, political orientation, social media activity, and views on climate change were applied. Data were analyzed using the Linear Mixed Models (ML) to examine the impact of the two types of civic learning opportunities (IVs) on participants’ a) interest in political expression (sharing/commenting), b) interest in sharing calls to action, and c) level of differentiation between posts with more vs. less evidence.

Findings and Scholarly Significance
In line with previous research, participants demonstrated positive attitudes toward consuming posts, particularly from non-institutional sources. Furthermore, they clearly demonstrated preference for engaging with posts with evidence. At the same time, participants avoided political expression (sharing/commenting) especially for policy-related calls to action. We found that exposure to education for online research was associated with greater differentiation between posts based on evidence and interest in institutional sources. However, education for online expression was related to willingness to share/comment, circulate calls to action, and engage with policy related calls to action. These findings suggest the importance of balancing teaching for critical consumption of civic media with teaching skills of online political expression in order to prepare young people for informed and empowered civic engagement in the digital age.

Authors

• Ellen Middaugh, San Jose State University
  Presenting Author

• Sherry Bell, University of Oregon
  Presenting Author

• Mariah Kornbluh, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mark K. Felton, San José State University
  Non-Presenting Author