Blog Winter Book Club Selection
December 16, 2016
Ken Moffett & Laurie Rice, SIUE
In a book just released by Lexington Books, Web 2.0 and the Political Mobilization of College Students, we find that simple online political activities (such as liking candidates, and posting one’s thoughts about politics online) yields higher levels of civic activities away from the internet. We also find that differing forms of online participation are connected with higher levels of other routes of civic engagement online. These newer forms of engagement make political participation more accessible to young people. They both draw in a broader swathe of young adults than might ordinarily participate and propel them to participate in multiple ways, both online and offline. In this way, our findings run counter to the common narrative about young adults being “slactivists” and disengaged and instead offer hopeful news about the future of political participation in the United States.
The authors will be joining us for a discussion. Please note that we will again do a doodle for the best time to meet and since we will be having the authors join us, we will do our calls on one of these dates: March 3rd or March 6th-10th. If you are interested in receiving a free copy of the book and in joining our discussions please email Amy Ludwig at aludwig1 {at} depaul(.)edu by Friday, January 27th.
