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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2016-03-01
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Series: | Social Media + Society |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116637096 |
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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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AT cynthiapeacock engagingyoungpeopledeliberativepreferencesindiscussionsaboutnewsandpolitics AT peterleavitt engagingyoungpeopledeliberativepreferencesindiscussionsaboutnewsandpolitics |
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