Cultural Displacement or Disaffection?

Reassessing Young Citizens, New Media and Civic

Engagement

Brian D. Loader

University of York, UK

Overview of Young Citizens & Civic Engagement in New

Media Age• Explore issues within a binary

framework - disaffection/ cultural displacement

• Not exhaustive and may not be robust• Former more conservative/liberal, latter

associated with radical democratic models.

Disaffection Perspective

• Orthodox political theory regards young citizens as ‘disaffected’

• Low voter turnout, don’t join parties & low opinion of politicians

• Ironically such perceived apathy exists when young people have more access to political information.

Cultural Displacement

• Young people may not be disaffected with politics but may be displaced from formal political sphere.

• Disjuncture between trad. Political activity which are restrictive & modes of expression which privilege identity (Giddens), lifestyle diversity, individualisation & liquidity (Bauman)

Contrasts

• Disaffected emphasizes formal politics - Displacement focusses upon broad view of the political

• Displacement foregrounds diversity, identity, contestation rather than essentialist notions of citizenship & community

• Displacement therefore acknowledges that young people are heterogenious and subject to unequal power relations - reflected in digital divide.

Mobilization & Socialisation

• Two approaches produce contrasting directions for engaging young people.

• Disaffection - no significant change in political style is required - new media can be used to re-connect young people - Retain the old and change young people

• Citizenship education, politicians iPod playlists and celebrity TV performances

Contemporary Youth Culture

• Displacement - trad politics contrasts with self expression, personal disclosure of youth culture media environment - Myspace, Facebook, Flikker, texting & blogging

• These spaces/places are also political?

(Beck’s subpolitics?) Not displacement from the real world of politics but displacement of trad politics by new political cultures.

Displacement as Aspiration?

• E-dem has been disappointing• Evidence for online engagement may be thin

- Livingstone• Displacement may be more characterized by

social fragmentation & escapism rather than new forms of activism.

• New media may foster easy exit, consumer democracy.

Towards Radical Model of Engagement?

• Such a model would require transformation of political system itself.

• Enables variety of spaces/places which include civil, market and state at different levels?

• Not displacement into dreamland or replacement of rep. politics but re-articulation of democratic relations

• New network spaces for efficacy?

Community Network Spaces?

• Local democratic spaces – national too remote

• Diverse social backgrounds may need local understandings

• Interactivity may be more likely at local level

• Political stakeholders responding to community spaces

Citizenship Education Spaces

• E-Mock Elections

• Content Creation – videos, digital art, music

• Humour

• Genuine engagement with stake holders – power, respect, responsibility & deliberation

Re-articulating democratic engagement

• Citizenship Ed. needs to address new media orientated youth culture

• Global/national issues more relevant when localised

• Not just schools but also…

• …local network spaces