Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics

The Internet affords users a unique and low-cost way to engage with news, politics, and one another. Although young people are the most likely age cohort to go online, it is questionable whether young people take advantage of the Internet as a deliberative space. We examine the way college students...

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Main Authors: Cynthia Peacock, Peter Leavitt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2016-03-01
Series:Social Media + Society
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116637096
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spelling doaj-196dad6d92994b33b999c4f947b0326f2020-11-25T03:09:24ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512016-03-01210.1177/205630511663709610.1177_2056305116637096Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and PoliticsCynthia Peacock0Peter Leavitt1The University of Texas at Austin, USAThe University of Arizona, USAThe Internet affords users a unique and low-cost way to engage with news, politics, and one another. Although young people are the most likely age cohort to go online, it is questionable whether young people take advantage of the Internet as a deliberative space. We examine the way college students perceive the online world as a venue for political discussion by analyzing responses from six focus groups conducted with college students across the United States. Using deliberative theory as a guide, we examine focus group participants’ thoughts about political discussion both online and offline. Our findings indicate that young people’s preferences for online discussions about politics and the news consistently link to the ideals of deliberation. Young people prefer engaging with others who are knowledgeable and remain flexible and calm during discussions. Goals for engaging in conversations about politics primarily revolved around sharing information and opinions. Participants preferred civil discourse that focuses on commonalities rather than differences between people. This study provides greater insight into how the rising generation currently engages with politics and the news and reasons why many people hesitate to participate in online discussions about public affairs.https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116637096
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Cynthia Peacock
Peter Leavitt
spellingShingle Cynthia Peacock
Peter Leavitt
Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics
Social Media + Society
author_facet Cynthia Peacock
Peter Leavitt
author_sort Cynthia Peacock
title Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics
title_short Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics
title_full Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics
title_fullStr Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics
title_full_unstemmed Engaging Young People: Deliberative Preferences in Discussions About News and Politics
title_sort engaging young people: deliberative preferences in discussions about news and politics
publisher SAGE Publishing
series Social Media + Society
issn 2056-3051
publishDate 2016-03-01
description The Internet affords users a unique and low-cost way to engage with news, politics, and one another. Although young people are the most likely age cohort to go online, it is questionable whether young people take advantage of the Internet as a deliberative space. We examine the way college students perceive the online world as a venue for political discussion by analyzing responses from six focus groups conducted with college students across the United States. Using deliberative theory as a guide, we examine focus group participants’ thoughts about political discussion both online and offline. Our findings indicate that young people’s preferences for online discussions about politics and the news consistently link to the ideals of deliberation. Young people prefer engaging with others who are knowledgeable and remain flexible and calm during discussions. Goals for engaging in conversations about politics primarily revolved around sharing information and opinions. Participants preferred civil discourse that focuses on commonalities rather than differences between people. This study provides greater insight into how the rising generation currently engages with politics and the news and reasons why many people hesitate to participate in online discussions about public affairs.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116637096
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