Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation

Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital Generation provides a groundbreaking overview of Web-based efforts to increase youth civic engagement. Beginning with a close-up examination of website content, the report also examines the organizations and institutions creating that content, and the larger environment in which civic sites function. The full report offers:

• Case studies of high-profile sites' strategies for launch, visibility and funding; the online response to 9/11; and online youth activism.
• Discussion of the potential that websites offer to build lasting habits of civic involvement.
• Current developments in technology, regulation and law that raise urgent questions about the viability of the civic Web.

In addition, the project has created an online showcase of top youth civic websites. To see how they use the Internet to facilitate civic involvement and learning, take the Online Tour!

Youth as E-Citizens was initiated by the Center for Media Education. With the closing of the Center in the fall of 2003, the project joined the Center for Social Media. Initial funding for this multi-year research project was provided by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). The Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Packard Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation also provided critical support.

Download:

youthreport.pdf