Social capital online and youth civic engagement: A case study of Korean youth online community
Kwon, Sei (2020)
2020
Master's Degree Programme in Digital Literacy Education
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-05-26
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202005195494
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202005195494
Tiivistelmä
Civic engagement is an indispensable part of life to live as a citizen in a democratic society. From the inclusive view, youth are apparently citizens. Unlike the past, it is noticeable that many youths these days have been raising their voice to political or social issues. Social capital has been understood as the integrated power based on people’s social network, it can be a useful resource for youth to fulfil civic engagement.
The aim of this study is to advance understanding on how youth online foster social capital in the context of youth civic engagement. As a case study, the research methods consisted of observing a Korean youth online community, Asunaro, which exists as a Facebook page, and interviewing Asunaro members and an administrator.
The findings show that three social capital factors: structural (social interaction ties), relational (trust), and cognitive (shared languages and vision) exist among youth members, and several civic engagement behaviours were observed in the online community, mainly passive type of civic behaviours. Active civic behaviours were hardly found due to the lack of high level of trust among members.
The main conclusion to be drawn from this study is that social capital among youth online is worth to be utilised as a resource to encourage youth civic engagement. Educational support, such as media literacy education, and societal support will help more to improve passive and active civic behaviour. This study may give some insights to educators and researchers for practical uses or the purpose of academic research.
The aim of this study is to advance understanding on how youth online foster social capital in the context of youth civic engagement. As a case study, the research methods consisted of observing a Korean youth online community, Asunaro, which exists as a Facebook page, and interviewing Asunaro members and an administrator.
The findings show that three social capital factors: structural (social interaction ties), relational (trust), and cognitive (shared languages and vision) exist among youth members, and several civic engagement behaviours were observed in the online community, mainly passive type of civic behaviours. Active civic behaviours were hardly found due to the lack of high level of trust among members.
The main conclusion to be drawn from this study is that social capital among youth online is worth to be utilised as a resource to encourage youth civic engagement. Educational support, such as media literacy education, and societal support will help more to improve passive and active civic behaviour. This study may give some insights to educators and researchers for practical uses or the purpose of academic research.