Beyond the Paradox of Young Adults’ Political (Dis)engagement: A Cross-Disciplinary Conceptual Reflection on the Expansion of the Political Participation Repertoire

Abstract

There is a paradox in the social sciences between young adults’ political disengagement on the one hand and the options for participation offered by developments in information and communication technology on the other. While some studies draw attention to young adults’ negative attitudes toward politics and their disengagement from political activities, others highlight the new ways in which they are participating in society and call for an expansion of the political participation repertoire. Based on a discussion of concepts and approaches from a range of disciplines, this paper highlights the complex nature of political participation and considers it in relation to media literacy. It distinguishes between political, civic, and media participation and positions mediatized civic participation at the intersection of the latter two dimensions. This conceptual work calls into question the traditional methods used to study the evolution of political participation from an information and communication perspective. By calling for actors’ expertise to be included in the definition of the norm (i.e., comprehensive method), for literacy to be conceptualized at the level of the group (i.e., collective approach), and for a study of practices serving the common good and the proper functioning of democracy to be undertaken(i.e., collectivist approach), this paper offers an effective way to address the relationship between media literacy and civic participation.