Youth activism

Child and youth activists protesting at a demonstration in Hong Kong in December 2005.
Students in a demonstration for the Tempi rail crash in Greece, 2023.
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Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24.[1] Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of “Alter-Activism” resulting in an emphasis on lived experiences and connectivity amongst young activists.[2] The young activists have taken lead roles in public protest and advocacy around many issues like climate change, abortion rights and gun violence.[3]

Different from past protest or advocacy, technology has become the backbone to many of these modern youth movements.[4] It has been shown in multiple studies that internet use along with seeking information online is shown to have positive impacts on political engagement.[5] Popular applications like Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have become the newest tools for young activists in the 21st century. Technology and the use of digital media has changed the way youth participate in activism globally, and youth are more active in media than older generations.[6]

  1. ^ "UN-Youth-Definition". usfcas.usfca.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  2. ^ "Transnational New Forms of Youth Activism". usfcas.usfca.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  3. ^ Rose, Steve (2019-06-03). "'Our rage and terror give us power': what drives young activists?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  4. ^ Gordon, Hava R.; Taft, Jessica K. (December 2011). "Rethinking Youth Political Socialization: Teenage Activists Talk Back". Youth & Society. 43 (4): 1499–1527. doi:10.1177/0044118X10386087. ISSN 0044-118X. S2CID 73604411.
  5. ^ "Constructing the Visual Online Political Self | Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems". doi:10.1145/2858036.2858160. S2CID 774458. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Valenzuela, Sebastián (2013). "Unpacking the Use of Social Media for Protest Behavior The Roles of Information, Opinion Expression, and Activism". American Behavioral Scientist. 57 (7): 920–942. doi:10.1177/0002764213479375. S2CID 147218763.