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Mobilizing the Young: The Role of Social Networks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2018

Cameron D. Anderson  and
Laura B. Stephenson
Cameron D. Anderson*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
Laura B. Stephenson*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
*
Department of Political Science, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London ON, email: [email protected]
Department of Political Science, Social Science Centre, University of Western Ontario, London ON N6A 5C2, email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Disaffection of youth from politics is a well-documented phenomenon in many countries. In this article, we consider whether the social networks of young people have the same influence on political engagement as they have been found to have for older adults. We use a single dataset to test the effects of discussion and disagreement on the political engagement of young people (30 and under) and older adults. We find that social network discussion has a stronger effect on the engagement of young people but that disagreement has no clear differential effect.

Résumé

La désaffection des jeunes envers la politique est un phénomène bien documenté dans de nombreux pays. Dans le présent article, nous examinons si les réseaux sociaux des jeunes exercent sur l'engagement politique la même influence qui a été observée chez les adultes plus âgés. Nous utilisons un seul ensemble de données pour tester les effets de la discussion et du désaccord sur l'engagement politique des jeunes (30 ans et moins) et des adultes âgés. Nous constatons que la discussion sur les réseaux sociaux a un effet plus marqué sur l'engagement des jeunes, mais que le désaccord n'a pas d'effet différentiel évident.

Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 861 - 880
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2018 

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