Digital Renaissance: Young Consumer and Citizen?

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between Internet use among young people, their political consumption, and their political participation. The study widens the notion of online civic and political engagement and includes measures of active and passive forms of participation. To test a number of hypotheses developed on the basis of extant research, a survey was conducted in 2006 among 2,404 young Dutch respondents (aged sixteen to twenty-four). The results demonstrate the importance of the Internet for political activities for young people. They also show that most online activities (ranging from news use, peer communication, and consumption to online service use) are positively related to political participation. Contrary to common wisdom, this article shows that the young online consumer is also politically active.