International Communication Gazette

This article examines the relationship between youth, digital technology and civic engagement, within the context of the authoritarian democracy of Singapore. In-depth interviews with 23 young activists were conducted to provide information regarding the emergence of digital activism. The findings are presented in three parts. First, the article explains how activism has been understood in the Singaporean context, and how young activists understand, appropriate or reject this concept. Through this exercise of (re)defining activism, we are able to see how ICT goes beyond its function as a tool, and for young activists becomes an important component of their political lexicon. Second, the article examines generational shift through the young activists’ own accounts of their parents and seniors, including how the prominence of ICT differs between older and younger activists. Third, it explores current use of ICT in activism, examining different types of technology and their advantages and shortcomings.

This article explains political activism among educated youths in Bangladesh and how information and communication technologies (ICTs) change their political attitudes and behaviors. The findings identify motivations and psychological factors that affect patterns of new media use in political participation. Data from 23 interviewees, alongside those of 69 focus group participants, reveal that Bangladeshi youths increasingly favor forward-looking agendas by rejecting traditional ideology-based party politics. They have a passion for shaping their opinions through social networking instead of processions, party meetings, and political violence. This study finds that youth engagement through virtual communication has no direct impact on political decision-making but may play a pivotal role in some policy-making processes in Bangladesh.

This article explores how youth in India understand, get involved in and actively use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in civic engagement. Despite a variety of opportunities for civic engagement, young people in India today show little interest in politics. Many cite a perceived inability to effect changes in India’s corrupt political system as the reason for their apathy. Indian youth do, however, engage in other forms of civic engagement. Helping the needy outside of work and college is a common form of community work for young Indians. Others engage with their communities through paid work at non-governmental organizations (NGOs). ICTs are used in the everyday lives of Indian youth for personal purposes like entertainment and social networking, but relatively little for activism. Of all ICTs in India, mobile phones are arguably the most important, with laptops a key ICT at NGOs.

The Internet has engendered a ‘democratizing’ effect, especially in highly censored societies. Young activists are increasingly using online sites, such as YouTube, EngageMedia and MySpace as alternative platforms to raise issues that are of importance to the community, but which are taboo in society (e.g., homosexuality, Orang Asli land rights, and ethnic discrimination, among others). The findings from interviews and focus groups conducted with 80 young adults, and a compilation of video blogging platforms/activities popular amongst Malaysians, clearly demonstrate the significant use of videos in advocating human rights, and social and political justice, as well as in challenging existing regulatory and legislative regimes. This article examines how video-sharing websites are fast becoming popular, albeit contested, spaces for critical documentary and experimental works to inform, educate, and encourage discourse among young adults. It then considers the extent to which such ‘viral videos’ embody and/or confront local/national struggles towards social and political change.

Political engagement among young activists in the Philippines has changed since new media technologies have gained critical mass. This article reports on how engagement has been redefined by the young and how information and communication technologies (ICTs) have contributed to the amplification of their voices in political life. Activists and ordinary youth were interviewed through unstructured individual and group conversations, and they were asked about their definitions of political, civic, and social engagement. The expression of opinions online is highly valued as a political activity and is believed to be a politically consequential action. Young activists strategically use ICTs and social networks to gather support for their causes and to gain the attention of the traditional media and politicians.