Activism and Social Media: Youth Participation and Communication

Background: Digitalization and hyperconnectivity generate spaces for youth participation in social activism through social media platforms. The purpose of this research was to analyze young people’s online experience in social activism movements, including their preferences, themes, usage of languag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSustainability Vol. 13; no. 18; p. 10485
Main Authors Cortés-Ramos, Antonio, Torrecilla García, Juan Antonio, Landa-Blanco, Miguel, Poleo Gutiérrez, Francisco Javier, Castilla Mesa, María Teresa
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2021
Subjects
Activism
Activists
Communication
Communications technology
Cooperation
Data collection
Digital media
Digitization
Internet
Language
Motivation
Public spaces
Social activism
Social change
Social networks
Society
Sustainability
User generated content
Virtual networks
Young adults
Youth participation
Spain
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Summary:Background: Digitalization and hyperconnectivity generate spaces for youth participation in social activism through social media platforms. The purpose of this research was to analyze young people’s online experience in social activism movements, including their preferences, themes, usage of language, and perceived impact. Methods: The research is framed within a qualitative interpretative–descriptive paradigm. Five focus groups were conducted, including 58 high school students from Malaga, Spain. Results: Several themes were identified through the coding process, including technological devices and social media preferences, participation in social movements or activism, perception of the degree of participation, the focus of interest, motivation for involvement, language use on social media, and beliefs. Conclusions: In a hyperconnected world, youth participation in social movements becomes more relevant. Their interest is reflected in the enormous potential that this social participation of young people has through networks and virtual platforms, becoming an informal communication model with characteristics to be an effective vehicle for social transformation.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su131810485