Civic Engagement Essay

805 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: how social media affects politics

Traditional civic engagement practices are changing due to the permanent disruption in communication patterns and information caused by social media. Social media is seen as a new arena for civic participation, especially relevant for youth. As reported by Skoric (2015), social media provide a space to stimulate youth engagement for active participation and public debate. Given that the increasing ubiquity of social media platforms to provide space for public discussion, Zhang (2013) argues that there’s a rise in the spread of political news around social media platforms. Besides, video games are immensely popular and can be a great way to educate and inspire youth on civic issues (Kahne, Middaugh & Evans, 2009). Given that social media platforms have grown more prominent in political affairs, by capitalizing on the trends, Singapore People’s Party will enable wider civic …show more content…

Social media provides rich opportunities for youth to get engaged in civic participation by providing space for public debate and political discussions. Skoric (2015) points out that “… scholars have focused on new media forms as a locus for areas of civic and political participation” (p. 187). As reported by Lin, Cheong, Kim and Jung (2010), there is a positive association between the social media use and civic participation. For instance, social media platforms provide a huge amount of political information, from news on politics to political campaigns (Skoric, 2015). With today’s widespread use of social media platforms, heavy social media users, especially youth, are actively exposed to political information. Zhang (2013) argues that “… [Youth] was far more actively involved in online politics” (p. 257). Therefore, it will be beneficial for Singapore People’s Party to capitalize on this trend so as to create possibilities and awareness for greater youth

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Five Ways New Media Are Changing Politics

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of this article is to persuade the reader that social media is the new alternative to mainstream big money ads for politicians. Cary’s intended audience is politicians, political campaign managers and politically engaged citizens. The tone of this article is informative but slightly opinionated. While Cary does back up her claims with notable quotes and statistics the main support for her argument is her professional opinion. Cary was formerly the

    Read More

  • How Social Media Is Ruining Politics Carr Summary

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nicholas Carr’s article “How Social Media Is Ruining Politics”, Carr writes about the effects that social media has on politics. In his article, Carr focuses more on the negative effect that social media has when it comes to politics. Some points that he makes about social media include specific examples like the recent presidential campaigns, how other technological advances over the years have effected politics, and the effectiveness that social media has on politics

    Read More

  • Commentary on The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics by Russell J. Dalton

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many political analysts argue that engagement is an important characteristic of democracy, yet the younger generation is indifferent towards politics. They’re more interested in the latest iPhone technology than in campaigning or voting. In The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics, author Russell J. Dalton counters this with the idea that Gen X’ers are still engaged, just in a different way.

    Read More

  • Cynicism of the American Political Process

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Political inactivity on the part of young Americans stems from one fundamental source -- a general cynicism of the American political process. This disdain for politics is further perpetuated by a lack of voter education and a needlessly archaic voting procedure that creates barriers to voting where they need not exist. While many of these existing problems can be rectified with relative ease through the implementation of programs such as Internet voting and better voter education, such programs create only a partial solution.

    Read More

  • Is Voting For Young People By Martin P. Wattenberg

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    When analyzing the voting turn out in this nation is becomes evident that the youth of America tends to be less active compared to their elders. Written in the book "Is Voting for Young People" by Martin P. Wattenberg he breaks down the key components connecting the youth of America to voting in order to come to the conclusion of how active the youth is in politics, and ways to make them more involved.

    Read More

  • Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) And Social Media

    3494 Words  | 7 Pages

    Human beings have been “posting” information about themselves and their lives to an audience of their peers long before the advent of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and Social Media. Used colloquially, the verb “post” describes the act of displaying or submitting information through a digital medium (Random House Kernerman Webster 's College Dictionary, 2010). However, within the context of this paper, I will be using the term in a much broader sense, as in “to affix (a public notice or bulletin) to a post, wall, or the like’ or ‘to bring to public notice by means of a poster or bill’ as in ‘the notice was posted on the wall’ (Random House Kernerman Webster 's College Dictionary, 2010).” First, I will establish that the use of symbols

    Read More

  • Social Media Influence On Politics Essay

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    The news media and social media affect and influence the political world. The political arena can now be easily accessed through every citizen’s smartphone screens and tablet screens. For instance, Barack Obama became the country’s most Instagrammer-in-Chief (Carr). Obama utilized social media to promote his climate agenda while on his trip to Alaska. He would snap pictures of the landscape and share the pictures on his social media accounts which earned him more than thousands of likes. The media and its political connections play a huge scene in this topic of influence. Since the election of 2008, Obama utilized Facebook to connect with the public (Carr). This year’s 2016 Presidential candidates have been using social media to connect with the public. The media interprets and impact discussions made by the public and its candidates, as well as polling and voting. Obama has paved the path since 2008 in using social media to connect with the public, and Obama has been a pacesetting in this year’s presidential candidates. For example, Senator Ted Cruz often appears on Periscope, Marco Rubio snap videos and pictures on Snapchat at stops along his

    Read More

  • Effects Of Social Media In The Media

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the media,there is often two kinds of criminals: those with mental illness, and violent thugs.However, the distinction is based on the color of one’s skin and not the crimes they committed. The media influences criminal stereotypes against Blacks in many ways. News programs use racial slurs to discuss Black Americans; the movies constantly use the stereotypes of Black thugs, and social media reacts negatively towards the struggles of Black families. The case of Dylan Roof, Zimmerman,and Mike Brown are only a few cases of the media’s unfair portrayal of criminal stereotypes. Whereas white people can use mental illness to get sympathy from the media, Blacks are harshly criticized for the same crimes.Why is this accepted by American society?

    Read More

  • Two Faces Of Credibility Essay

    426 Words  | 1 Pages

    Participation is the culminating ethical issue in the new digital media, and it arguably subsumes the issues of identity, privacy, ownership and authorship, and credibility. Participation centers on the roles and responsibilities that an individual has in community, society, and the world. In sum, opportunities for youth to assume empowering social roles online can endow them with a sense of responsibility to others, to their communities, and to society.

    Read More

  • Civic Engagement through Community Problem Solving

    6911 Words  | 14 Pages

    The recent decline in young people’s participation in political and civic activities has resulted in a revival within the field of civic education. Formal education institutions are not the only ones concerned about youth engagement, however. A number of community agencies and nonprofits are active at the local level throughout the country. They are working to engage young people through a variety of methods, few of which have been researched to determine their effectiveness. One such community e...

    Read More

  • What Does It Mean To Be Citizen

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    The online life is a growing community with most being active online in one way or another, which has brought the sense of ‘netizen’ to attention. Netizen literally means “a citizen of the internet” (Fung, 2012) which is becoming the norm amongst the younger generation. People have become so absorbed by technology, for some it has become their main source of communication leaving many ignorant to what is occurring in the world around them. Exemplified strongly in the recent Australia Government voting, most young people were uninterested and were recorded as the smallest percentage of voters.

    Read More

  • The Roles of Social Media in Politics

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Flicker, internet websites, and blogs are becoming mainstream attracting a younger more technology savvy voter. Many candidates in the last elections learned to use these mediums so not to overlook tech savvy voters and learned how to use these to their advantage. Candidates took to the internet to raise awareness, state views, and even successfully raised donations. Social media was able to provide instant feedback on the standing of a candidate often days or weeks sooner than a more traditional poll.

    Read More

  • Media Literacy In Social Media

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Media Literacy is an ability to recognize, interpret, and analyze media messages, to determine the motivation of those responsible for messages, and to assess the impact of messages on individuals and society (Teaching Media Literacy). Media Literacy can pass on the message, whether is on hard news or soft news. Hard news is News that deals with serious topics or events, such as political issues, or breaking news while soft News does not deal with serious topics or events, they are more friendly, more entertainment. Soft news stories sell far better than hard news stories, and social media play a big part of that today. Social Media make it easy to pass on soft news. With hard news it different, I wonder if it’s reliable, most of the time I don’t even stop to verify it. Media Literacy is everywhere, whether is on T.V, Social media, and/or Radio, in the schools, home or on the road, we need to be able to understand what been stated.

    Read More

  • Media Literacy Essay

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    How media literacy is defined is important for it exerts influence on the framing of the debate, the research agenda and policy initiatives (Livingstone, 2004). However, its concept has always been controversial (Luke, 1989). The definition of media literacy first appear in the 1992 National Leadership Conference on Media Literacy, which described it as: “The ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages” (Rubin, 1998, p.3). Based on this definition, many researchers are putting efforts to redefine it from different aspects. Some definitions of the last decade involved the understanding of how media functioned in society (Messaris, 1998). Others pointed out that media literacy instead depended on the understanding of the technological, political, economic constraints affecting the transmission of mediated messages (Lewis and Jhally, 1998). According to Tyner (1998, p17), definitions range from the tautological (computer literacy is the ability to use computers) to the hugely idealistic: “The term literacy is shorthand for cultural ideals as eclectic as economic development, personal fulfillment, and individual moral fortitude”. One of the definition that is more related to daily practice puts emphasis on critical thinking and the ability to distinguish media content form social reality, as Potter (2001, pp4-5) put it: “Media literacy is a perspective that we actively use when exposing ourselves to the media in order to interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter.” While popular US textbooks on media literacy have an interesting description, which says, “we build our perspectives from knowledge structures; to build our knowledge structures, we need tools and raw materials-the...

    Read More

  • Mass Media and Social Media

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mass media and social media are technology all around us. They are ways of a mass communication that reach a limitless amount of people. Media has changed the way the world thinks. Mass media refers to TV, magazines, newspapers, pictures and Radio. Social media refers to any kind of internet logging like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google, amongst others. Mass and social media surround us and tell us what we should be or should do. This can lead to constructive behaviors or it can lead to the destruction of lives caused by how the media relays these messages. Ultimately leaving the diversity of people falling victim to mass and social media. Not one person can make that sole decision. Consequently, changing how people think. Consequentially, changing the way the public looks at presidential candidates.

    Read More

More about Civic Engagement Essay

Open Document