by Jan Goehring
Young people who use the Internet are more likely to be civically engaged according to a new study. They are also more likely to be exposed to diverse political viewpoints. "We found that being part of online participatory communities tied to youth interests, political or not, exposes youth to a greater degree of diverse viewpoints and issues and is related to higher levels of civic engagement," says Joe Kahne, Mills College Education Professor and author of the study. "Both of these outcomes are good for democracy."
The study surveyed more than 2,500 young people and followed more than 400 students from high schools all across California for three-and-a-half years. Researchers examined whether the participants used blogs or social networking sites to discuss issues, used the Internet to get information about political or social issues, or used email to talk about these issues.
The results of the study were released by a newly-formed research network of scholars called Youth and Participatory Politics. The group will continue to investigate how digital media affects the political and civic engagement of young people.
The MacArthur Foundation and the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Education (CIRCLE) provided funding for this work.
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