A narrowing digital divide

This paper analyses the effectiveness of the Internet as a tool for civic engagement among youth during the 2000, 2004, and 2008 US presidential elections. In this context, youth can be understood as the segment of the electorate comprised of individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years. The aut...

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Main Authors: Maya Forrester, Jonathan Matusitz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Johannesburg 2022-10-01
Series:Communicare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1685
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author Maya Forrester
Jonathan Matusitz
author_facet Maya Forrester
Jonathan Matusitz
author_sort Maya Forrester
collection DOAJ
description This paper analyses the effectiveness of the Internet as a tool for civic engagement among youth during the 2000, 2004, and 2008 US presidential elections. In this context, youth can be understood as the segment of the electorate comprised of individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years. The authors apply concepts of the digital divide to address, hypothetically, the question of whether the Internet is the cure-all for political malaise among youth. As such, without the digital divide, would the Internet be able to resolve the issue of low political involvement among youth? This analysis concludes that the impact of the Internet on youth political participation has been demonstrated to be successful. The Internet has not only become a revolutionary and promising political communication medium and campaign tool, it is also a bulwark of democracy.
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publishDate 2022-10-01
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record_format Article
series Communicare
spelling doaj-art-4b631285240647f2b36acc8801e9392f2025-01-20T08:53:37ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0129210.36615/jcsa.v29i2.1685A narrowing digital divideMaya Forrester0Jonathan Matusitz1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8078-3663University of Central FloridaUniversity of Central Florida This paper analyses the effectiveness of the Internet as a tool for civic engagement among youth during the 2000, 2004, and 2008 US presidential elections. In this context, youth can be understood as the segment of the electorate comprised of individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years. The authors apply concepts of the digital divide to address, hypothetically, the question of whether the Internet is the cure-all for political malaise among youth. As such, without the digital divide, would the Internet be able to resolve the issue of low political involvement among youth? This analysis concludes that the impact of the Internet on youth political participation has been demonstrated to be successful. The Internet has not only become a revolutionary and promising political communication medium and campaign tool, it is also a bulwark of democracy. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1685Internetyouth political participation2000, 2004, and 2008 US presidential electionsdemocracy
spellingShingle Maya Forrester
Jonathan Matusitz
A narrowing digital divide
Communicare
Internet
youth political participation
2000, 2004, and 2008 US presidential elections
democracy
title A narrowing digital divide
title_full A narrowing digital divide
title_fullStr A narrowing digital divide
title_full_unstemmed A narrowing digital divide
title_short A narrowing digital divide
title_sort narrowing digital divide
topic Internet
youth political participation
2000, 2004, and 2008 US presidential elections
democracy
url https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1685
work_keys_str_mv AT mayaforrester anarrowingdigitaldivide
AT jonathanmatusitz anarrowingdigitaldivide
AT mayaforrester narrowingdigitaldivide
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