Political Conversations With Social Groups and Digital Civic Engagement Among Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Digital Literacy, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status

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  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Adolescence and Youth Development Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

This study examined how adolescents’ political conversations with teachers and classmates, parents/guardians, and friends, and personal characteristics such as digital literacy, gender, and socio-economic status (SES) relate to digital civic engagement (CE). Study participants were 1,005 grades 9-10 students (mean age=15.5 years-old; girls=73.8%) from private (48.8%) and public (51.2 %) high schools in the Philippines. Students answered self-reported questionnaires assessing their digital CE, political conversations with the aforementioned social groups, and digital literacy. Findings show that political conversations with social groups uniquely predicted digital CE over and above digital literacy, gender, and SES. Likewise, high-SES students demonstrated higher levels of political conversations with social groups and digital CE than low-SES students. Implications for social justice in digital CE were discussed.

Authors

• Ma Glenda Lopez Wui, Ateneo de Manila University

• Jessica Sandra R. Claudio, Ateneo de Manila University

• Jie Zhang, University of Houston

• Carl Russel R. Reyes, Ateneo de Manila University

• Rosselle Trishia M. Reyes, Ateneo de Manila University

• Enrique Nino P. Leviste, Ateneo de Manila University