History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Does Facebook boost civic engagement among American youths, too?
- 02-25-2011
-
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo/Christian Science Monitor
In Egypt, youthful revolutionaries spray-painted their thanks to Facebook on urban walls. In Wisconsin, a young demonstrator supporting union workers’ rights reportedly held up an iPad to play a scene from “The Empire Strikes Back” as he chanted against Gov. Scott Walker: “The Rebels brought down walkers; so can we.” Digital media are changing the way young people participate socially and politically – and scholars are scrambling to keep up with the implications. Some recent, first-of-its kind research examines the relationship between the Internet use and civic engagement of young Americans. Youths involved in online groups based on common interests, even if those interests were not political, were more likely to increase their level of volunteering, charitable giving, and expressing themselves about community issues, compared with similar peers who were not involved in online groups. (more...)
Send this
Print this
