Public Connection and Social Networks: Citizenship, Deliberation, and Engagement in Mexico

• In Event: Socializing the News, Connecting to Public Issues? Exploring Audiences’ Media Practices in Four Countries

Abstract

Modern democracies assume individuals are, at least minimally, interested and informed on public issues. But, how real is such assumption beyond evident electoral moments and critical periods? This work explores the existence of a “citizen condition” in daily life and the role media contents may be playing therein. A successful antecedent was crafted at the London School of Economics (LSE) a decade ago. However, our project focuses on information consumption through Internet and social networks by urban educated population. Then this paper analyses the conditions that spark engagement among our participants. At the end, findings are discussed within the broader context of citizenship and deliberation in modern democracies. For Mexico –a country with strong political authoritarian traditions—, the paper propounds that qualitatively relevant action spaces are emerging.

Author

• Manuel Alejandro Guerrero Martinez, U Iberoamericana