Cultural Displacement or
Disaffection?
Reassessing Young Citizens,
New Media and Civic
Engagement
Brian D. Loader
University of York, UK
Overview of Young Citizens &
Civic Engagement in New
Media Age
• Explore issues within a binary
framework - disaffection/ cultural
displacement
• Not exhaustive and may not be robust
• Former more conservative/liberal, latter
associated with radical democratic
models.
Disaffection Perspective
• Orthodox political theory regards young
citizens as ‘disaffected’
• Low voter turnout, don’t join parties &
low opinion of politicians
• Ironically such perceived apathy exists
when young people have more access
to political information.
Cultural Displacement
• Young people may not be disaffected
with politics but may be displaced from
formal political sphere.
• Disjuncture between trad. Political
activity which are restrictive & modes of
expression which privilege identity
(Giddens), lifestyle diversity,
individualisation & liquidity (Bauman)
Contrasts
• Disaffected emphasizes formal politics Displacement focusses upon broad view of
the political
• Displacement foregrounds diversity, identity,
contestation rather than essentialist notions
of citizenship & community
• Displacement therefore acknowledges that
young people are heterogenious and subject
to unequal power relations - reflected in
digital divide.
Mobilization & Socialisation
• Two approaches produce contrasting
directions for engaging young people.
• Disaffection - no significant change in political
style is required - new media can be used to
re-connect young people - Retain the old and
change young people
• Citizenship education, politicians iPod
playlists and celebrity TV performances
Contemporary Youth Culture
• Displacement - trad politics contrasts with self
expression, personal disclosure of youth
culture media environment - Myspace,
Facebook, Flikker, texting & blogging
• These spaces/places are also political?
(Beck’s subpolitics?) Not displacement from the
real world of politics but displacement of trad
politics by new political cultures.
Displacement as Aspiration?
• E-dem has been disappointing
• Evidence for online engagement may be thin
- Livingstone
• Displacement may be more characterized by
social fragmentation & escapism rather than
new forms of activism.
• New media may foster easy exit, consumer
democracy.
Towards Radical Model of
Engagement?
• Such a model would require transformation of
political system itself.
• Enables variety of spaces/places which
include civil, market and state at different
levels?
• Not displacement into dreamland or
replacement of rep. politics but re-articulation
of democratic relations
• New network spaces for efficacy?
Community Network Spaces?
• Local democratic spaces – national too
remote
• Diverse social backgrounds may need
local understandings
• Interactivity may be more likely at local
level
• Political stakeholders responding to
community spaces
Citizenship Education Spaces
• E-Mock Elections
• Content Creation – videos, digital art,
music
• Humour
• Genuine engagement with stake
holders – power, respect, responsibility
& deliberation
Re-articulating democratic
engagement
• Citizenship Ed. needs to address new
media orientated youth culture
• Global/national issues more relevant
when localised
• Not just schools but also…
• …local network spaces