Developing Self-Actualizing and Dutiful Citizens: A Longitudinal Study of Traditional News, Creative Online Media Use, and Political Engagement Among Adolescents

• In Event: Online Politics and Youth Political Engagement

Abstract

One of the major issues facing contemporary democratic societies is how the rapidly changing media environment influences democratic citizenship. Rather than strengthening or weakening citizenship per se, the present study analyses whether the distinctive communicative logics of traditional and online media encourage different forms of civic and political engagement among adolescents. More specifically, we use three waves of panel data covering a period of three years to study Swedish adolescents’ development of Actualizing (AC) and Dutiful (DC) citizen qualities over time. The findings clearly suggest that communicative logics matter. While traditional news media use primarily contributes to the development of DC qualities – such as political knowledge, institutional participation and political trust – creative online media use promotes AC qualities, including cause-oriented online and offline activism as well as internal efficacy. The findings are discussed in light of ongoing media environmental transformations, changing styles of political engagement and normative ideals of democracy.

Authors

• Adam Shehata, University of Gothenburg

• Mats Erik Ekstrom, U of Gothenburg

• Tobias Olsson, Lund U