Political participation of young people in digital media

The rapid change in science and technology in the first quarter of the twenty-first century has altered the effort of the mankind to survive on the earth in unprecedented ways. The most active actors of this multidimensional and complex period of change are young individuals whose digital and real lives are intertwined. Political participation, which is one of the building blocks and indispensable elements of democracy, is an essential concept. Political participation has become even more important with the introduction of the internet. The penetration of the internet into all areas of life and the easy communication and interaction it has provided have facilitated the lives of young people in every field. Thanks to the internet, young people are able to participate in political life via digital media in addition to the conventional ways. In digital environments where communication is the most intense, young people easily achieve political participation, take part in discussions, express criticism and opinions and, talk about their political activities, all of which enable political participation. Political participation of young people using digital platforms contributes to democratic understanding. The aim of this study is to reveal the political participation of young people in digital environments. To this end, the present study aims to determine the political participation levels of young people by applying various research methods in order to reveal the pre-knowledge and perceptions of young people and, the effects of digital environments on these. In the present study, mixed methods including both quantitative and qualitative dimensions were used for data collection. In this study, the survey model was used to obtain quantitative data and the phenomenology model, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. SPSS and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used in the analysis of quantitative data. In the analysis of qualitative data, the qualitative data analysis program, MAXQUDA 2020, was used. In the content analysis process, transcript, coding, category creation and reporting stages were followed, respectively. In the light of the findings of the present study, it was concluded that the interest of young people in politics was at a moderate level. In addition, it was revealed that young people followed the political agenda, government policies, public statements of politicians and the services of local administrations in digital environments. All the male and female participants interviewed in the study stated that they followed the political agenda through digital media. The qualitative results of this research revealed that male participants were more politically involved than female participants. Keywords: Digital Media, Digital Citizenship, Young People, Political Participation, Citizenship