Overview

Social media has become a key space for young people to experiment with their political voice and to hone it through interaction with others. However, authors Neta Kligler-Vilenchik and Ioana Literat argue that in order to seriously consider social media as a space for youth political expression, we need to put aside conventional expectations about the forms that political expression should take. According to longstanding criteria for evaluating good citizens, political expression should be serious, focused on facts and rationality, and detached and objective. By contrast, the authors uncover political expression that is humoristic or cynical, colorful, and frequently infused with popular culture references. It is deeply emotional and often profoundly personal. If we look at this political speech through traditional lenses, we may not only miss it, but misunderstand young people's relationship to politics.Grounded in empirical research on three case studies of youth political expression on three different social media sites, Not Your Parents' Politics offers insights into the varied ways young people engage with political issues on the social media platforms most popular with youth audiences. On a theoretical level, the book offers a conceptual framework for analyzing how different platforms shape political expression through the interaction between their affordances, norms, and contents. This empirical and theoretically-based investigation sets the stage for a normative discussion, asking how the forms of expressive citizenship identified throughout the book might bolster-or hinder-democratic engagement. Ultimately, the book considers what it means to take youth political expression on social media seriously, and what the stakes are for political socialization and democratic participation.

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9780197795163

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Reviews

With humorous, memetic, and salty commentary on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, young people are reshaping political expression and by extension, democratic citizenship. In this groundbreaking book, Kligler-Vilenchik and Literat first explain how this is happening, and then suggest the ways that youth voice can be best supported to contribute productively to our collective future. This book is destined to be a classic in political communication. * Lynn Schofield Clark, Author (with Regina Marchi) of Young People and the Future of News * Neta Kligler-Vilenchik and Ioana Literat have gifted their readers with a urgent and observant account of the political and digital lives of youth around the world. Their account of political expression via various social media platforms adds greatly to our understanding of grassroots political communication. * Henry Jenkins, Co-editor of Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination * Examining the intersection between young people, social media, and politics, Neta Kligler-Vilenchik and Ioana Literat's eye-opening analysis takes youth voices and their developing political consciousness seriously and broadens our understanding of the nature of their citizenry engagement. This timely and well-researched book is highly accessible and illuminating, as it offers a fascinating peek into the changing practices of democracy. * Dafna Lemish, Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University * This is a rich ethnographic study of how 'expressive citizenship' is emerging through the 'political sandbox' afforded by social media. It will surely open the eyes of the adult generation which tends to (mis)judge how, for young people, the personal is political in new and creative ways. * Sonia Livingstone, Professor in the Department of Media and Communications, LSE, and Director of the Digital Futures for Children centre *

Author Information

Neta Kligler-Vilenchik is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She studies political expression in the new media environment, with a focus on young people and is a co-author of the book

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