Youth Engagement in the Era of New Media

Abstract

Contextualized within the popularity of new media, youth engagement is a very important concept in the practice of public involvement. Guided by the current literature on youth engagement and media studies, this chapter examines the key engagement-related notions involving youth and media usage. Being informed by a variety of case studies on youth engagement through the use of media within various contexts globally, the chapter discusses the opportunities and challenges of engaging youth through media usage. The specific notions covered in this chapter include: 1) the role of “hybrid” media in youth engagement; 2) “intersectionality” illustrating the diversity of youth populations and their media usage; 3) meaning-making through media usage among youth; and 4) building global social relationships and social and cultural capital through youth's media usage. Importantly, the use of new media can be seen as a means of reclaiming and reshaping the ways in which youth are engaged, as key meaning-making processes, to address personal, social, and cultural issues.