The Internet Generation
Engaged Citizens or Political Dropouts
Publication Year: 2010
Published by: Tufts University Press
Front Cover
Title Page
Contents
Tables
Preface
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pp. vii-ix
This book returns to the subject of my last book with the University Press of New England: Civic Literacy: How Informed Citizens Make Democracy Work. In the eight years since it was . . .
Part 1: Citizens in the Making
1: Why Political Dropouts Matter
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pp. 3-30
The last phrase in the subtitle of this book is provocative: the expression “political dropout” evokes the image of young people who have withdrawn not from the world of education but from the world of . . .
2: Political Socialization, Social Class, and Technological Transformation
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pp. 31-52
In the previous chapter, we introduced an approach based on political knowledge to the question of youth political participation—an approach that targets potential political dropouts. In this chapter, we . . .
3: The Revolution in Information Technology
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pp. 53-76
In the first chapter, we introduced a way to approach the question of youth political participation based on political knowledge. In this chapter, we look at changes over time in the information media, the . . .
4: Political Participation
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pp. 77-96
It’s time to get to the numbers: just how many young people vote? We have established that nowadays, for the most part, they turn out to vote at lower levels than did their parents and grandparents when . . .
5: The Political Knowledge of Emerging Generations
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pp. 97-113
Getting the Internet generation to participate politically entails, first and foremost, instilling in them the habit of paying attention to public affairs. Th e data presented in chapter 4 that show . . .
Part 2: Institutions
6: Political Institutions
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pp. 117-138
In this part of the book, we look at political institutions and their effect on informed youth political participation. So far, we have stressed the factors that contribute to a politically knowledgeable citizenry, and . . .
7: The Electoral System
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pp. 139-154
In part 2, we seek to identify institutional arrangements found in advanced democracies that manage to maintain relatively high levels of informed political participation among young citizens, despite the . . .
8: Who Should Vote, and When?
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pp. 155-172
In this chapter we continue to examine election rules, focusing on those directly affecting first-time potential voters. Measures along the lines discussed in this chapter would complement the reforms . . .
Part 3: Educating Tomorrow's Citizens
9: Civic Education outside the Classroom
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pp. 175-193
It is time to focus on the institution whose mission is to impart knowledge. Chapter 2 pointed out that recent developments have placed a mounting burden of political socialization on the public school. But . . .
10: The Challenge of Civic Education in the Internet Age
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pp. 195-216
I have argued from the start that we face a serious challenge in the phenomenon of political dropouts, and that any eff ective response to that challenge must address the upcoming generations’ political . . .
Conclusion
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pp. 217-224
In the 1970s, the Swedish Social Democratic Party youth wing claimed over 80,000 members; in 2008, it had a paltry 2,000.1 That is an extraordinary drop. Although the party is still by far the largest in . . .
Appendix
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pp. 225-226
Notes
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pp. 227-264
Bibliography
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pp. 265-285
Index
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pp. 287-294
Back Cover
E-ISBN-13: 9781584659129
E-ISBN-10: 1584659122
Print-ISBN-13: 9781584658580
Print-ISBN-10: 1584658584
Page Count: 304
Illustrations: 27 tables.
Publication Year: 2010
Series Title: Civil Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
