Service and Activism in the Digital Age

(In DC for a Street Law board meeting) For anyone interested in the potential of the new electronic media to enhance young people’s active citizenship, I recommend “Service & Activism in the Digital Age: Supporting Youth Engagement in Public Life,” A Digital Media and Learning Working Paper written by Ellen Middaugh with contributions by me and five colleagues/friends. Thanks to Ellen, this is an ambitious, detailed, and compellingly written report, drawing on extensive scholarship and offering numerous current examples of programs. (PDF here).

One way to summarize the report is to list four “Core Principles” that should generally guide youth civic programs, whether offline or online. For each principle, the report offers a theoretical argument, provides examples of excellent practice, explores the potential of the new electronic media, and then raises unresolved questions for research and practical experimentation

1. “Youth civic development is best supported in the culture and context of communities and movements.” (But we don’t know enough about “how to effectively use new media in building and connecting to community and movements.”)

2. “Youth civic development is best supported when youth are treated not just as future civic leaders, but also capable participants in the present.” (But we don’t know, for example, whether being young is a disadvantage in online discussions of real issues, or whether it is better to mix ages or create youth-only spaces online.)

3. “Youth civic development is best supported when youth have access to authentic learning experiences.” (But I think there is an important unresolved debate about what counts as “authentic” in an era of games and simulations.)

4. “Youth civic development requires opportunities for youth to grapple with issues of what is just and what is fair.” (But we don’t know whether typical methods, such as asking students to post videos online, contribute to rich and productive discussions.)