Week 6

“It is clear that many young citizens of this digital and global age have demonstrated interests in making contributions to society. Yet the challenge of engaging effectively with politics that are linked to spheres of government remains, for most, a daunting prospect” (Bennett, p 1).  This immediately put me on the defense for some reason, perhaps the issue isn’t the youth and the way they engage; perhaps it the old school methods still being used in politics; this was what immediately came to mind. As I pushed on through the piece I discovered that Bennett made some interesting points in regard to the presence of a disconnect between youths and politics. For example he states that, “The pathways to disconnection from government are many: adults are frequently negative about politics, the tone of the press is often cynical, candidates seldom appeal directly to young voters on their own terms about their concerns, politicians have poisoned the public well (particularly in the United States) with vitriol and negative campaigning, and young people see the media filled with inauthentic performances from officials who are staged by professional communication managers” (Bennett, p1). If the youth witnesses disgruntled adults especially adults whom may be their mentors, parents or educators; they will obviously feel “put off”. But I think Bennett really hit the nail on the head when he references inauthenticity. This is not only a huge turnoff for youths but for all individuals in general; I just feel as though sometimes the younger generations are more apt to show how put-off they are by the behavior.
The primary issue in my opinion is a connectivity issue. We live in an age were we can engage and disengage so quickly, literally at the touch of a button. We can search, join conversations, delete conversations, leave conversations and follow and un-follow each other literally at the click of a button. We have become obsessed with instant gratification, we do not want to have to wait for anything and if we do not relate with or take anything away from the content being shared; we are very quick to dismiss it. This would certainly cause disengagement numbers to go up in the politics arena.  Bennett goes on to mention, “managed environments”; this in my opinion is another huge disconnect. There seems to be a huge movement in which the youth are wishing to move away from being “managed”, they are exploring more creativity, more business independence and as a result. I feel as though the managed structure that they are encountering on the political platform is a deterrent, they do in fact like Bennett notes appear to view politics as inauthentic.
Per Bennett, “A key question thus becomes how to nurture the creative and expressive actions of a generation in change, while continuing to keep some positive engagement with government on their screens” (Bennett, p 2). I feel as though the only way to do this is to allow younger generations to feel. By this I mean, they need to be approached in a way that makes them feel as though their input and opinions matter, they need to feel as though the messaging delivered to them is in fact genuine and they need to feel that change is a reality. There is nothing wrong with old school methods, in fact in my opinion they build a strong platform in many arenas; however in today’s digital world engagement is what creates a following and a connection. I feel personally as though that’s what many individuals are seeking, especially when they log on.


Bennett, L. W. (2008). Changing citizenship in the digital age. Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth (pp. 1-24). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.