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Young Canadians in the 2008 Federal Election Campaign: Using Facebook to Probe Perceptions of Citizenship and Participation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2012

Nicole Goodman ,
Heather Bastedo ,
Lawrence LeDuc  and
Jon H. Pammett
Nicole Goodman*
Affiliation:
Carleton University
Heather Bastedo*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Lawrence LeDuc*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Jon H. Pammett*
Affiliation:
Carleton University
*
Nicole Goodman, Department of Political Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa ON K1S 5B6, Email: ngoodman@connect.carleton.ca
Heather Bastedo, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto ON M5S 3G3, Email: heather.bastedo@utoronto.ca
Lawrence LeDuc Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto ON M5S 3G3; Email: leduc@chass.utoronto.ca
Jon H. Pammett, Department of Political Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6; Email: Jon_Pammett@carleton.ca
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Abstract

Abstract. The gradual withdrawal of young voters from the active electorate is one of the strongest and most important factors in accounting for declining voter turnout in Canada and other western democracies. Because qualitative approaches may be better able to probe the reasons underlying these changing values and attitudes than traditional mass surveys, we used the popular social media site Facebook during the 2008 federal election campaign to collect data on young people's perceptions of electoral politics in the context of their civic obligations. This medium proved to be a valuable and productive research tool. Based on this project, we argue that non-voting tends to be seen as a more socially acceptable behaviour to young voters than is typically found in the thinking of older cohorts, and that this may be connected to changing concepts of the obligations of citizenship.

Résumé. Le désengagement graduel des jeunes électeurs est un des facteurs les plus importants pour expliquer le déclin de la participation électorale au Canada et dans les démocraties occidentales. Afin de mieux comprendre les causes de ce changement de valeurs et d'attitudes, nous avons utilisé le média social Facebook afin de collecter des données qualitatives sur la perception des jeunes électeurs durant l'élection fédérale de 2008. Cette approche nous apparaît mieux adapter que l'approche traditionnelle caractérisée par l'utilisation de sondages d'opinion. Au terme de l'analyse, la collecte de données via Facebook s'est avérée être une stratégie de recherche productive. En nous basant sur ces données, nous concluons que l'abstention électorale est un comportement plus socialement acceptable pour les jeunes électeurs que pour les électeurs plus âgés. Cette attitude pourrait être liée un changement conceptuel quant aux obligations associées à la citoyenneté.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 859 - 881
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2011

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