The Internet Generation: Engaged Citizens or Political Dropouts (review)

This is a very engaging book that poses a timely and interesting question: with the youth voting rate dropping steadily over the past 60 years in the United States (with 2008 being an exception), does growing up with the internet (and to a lesser extent other new forms of social media) foster civic literacy and political participation or, in fact, lead to political apathy? Henry Milner's analysis of the "internet generation" (those under 30) challenges research done primarily by political scientists and pollsters which has tended to focus on who people vote for and why, not if they are voting and if not, why not. It is supported by a plethora of studies based on survey data and interviews, as well as Milner's work spanning several years. Using a cross-national framework he examines the United States, Canada, Britain, Scandinavia and the European Union to understand patterns of youth voting and, most significantly, youth's attentiveness to politics. Milner's most poignant finding is that the internet generation in North America is not prepared to participate fully in the political process for a number of reasons that he outlines throughout the text. However, he does find high rates of civic literacy in Northern European countries because, as he demonstrates, their institutions are conducive to policy initiatives that promote informed political participation. While Milner notes the spike in the 2008 U.S. presidential election among members of the internet generation, he contends that this is most likely an outlier. This is because the United States lacks the institutions and civic literacy to sustain citizen involvement for the long term (he also argues that it was Barak Obama's charisma more than anything that influenced youth to participate in his campaign and to vote).

The book is divided into three sections. The first deals with how informed political participation, which Milner defines as political knowledge, attentiveness and electoral participation, have traditionally been affected by agents of socialization including the family, media, peers, neighbors and school systems. He argues that these are being replaced by new information communication technologies. The second section examines the affects of political institutions and policies on civic literacy. In comparison to other countries, he demonstrates the exceptionalness of the United States, which is rooted in a lack of federal administration of elections. Rather, individual states or political parties determine the rules of the campaign, institute voter regulations and conduct elections. His recommendation is to simplify the relationship between voters and the political system by establishing a process similar to the parliamentary system embraced by most other advanced democracies. These countries also have automatic voter registration and fixed election dates.

In the final section Milner introduces more suggestions for improving voter turnout in the United States, with the main onus placed on the schools. He advises that schools teach courses not only about the political process but, more importantly, how to become active in the process itself. Also, rather than encouraging and offering opportunities for service, students should be immersed in civic education. In Europe, for example, he notes there is more emphasis on student involvement with partisan issues rather than just civic engagement. Other ways to demystify the political process include arranging for students to visit places outside of the classroom where they can learn hands on about civic engagement, doing simulations in the classrooms (for example mock press conferences) or having guest speakers. To establish long-term political attentiveness, new ICTs, which link the members of the internet generation, should also be integrated with course content, thereby breaking down the barriers between the political world and the world of young adults. Finally, Milner recommends changing the voting age to 16 in the United States as is common elsewhere to encourage civic engagement earlier in life. The Internet Generation concludes with a success story: Sweden has aggressively confronted the dropout rate among young voters by synthesizing conventional and nonconventional political involvement and mobilization, and now has a more than 80...