Chapter 11: Gen Z's civic engagement: news use, politics, and cultural engagement

This chapter examines how Gen Z in industrialized democracies engages with public life via digital media amid challenges like climate change and economic precarity. It covers news consumption, digital political campaigns, and cultural engagement through content creation, setting the stage for further discussion on socio-economic and social identity impacts in Chapter 12.

November 2023 · Ava Francesca Battocchio, Chris Wells, Emily Vraga, Kjerstin Thorson, Stephanie Edgerly, Leticia Bode

“I Use Social Media as an Escape from All That” Personal Platform Architecture and the Labor of Avoiding News

Examining U.S. young adults, this study explores the design and maintenance of personal media across digital platforms and its impact on news use. Through 50 guided interviews using social media, it introduces the concept of personal platform architecture and its relation to digital labor, highlighting how this work often steers users away from news encounters.

August 2023 · Kjerstin Thorson, Ava Francesca Battocchio