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Online engagement increases among 18-30 year olds

For its second edition, the Youth Barometer conducted by Credoc on behalf of the Directorate of Youth, Popular Education and Associative Life (DJEPVA) includes a set of questions on youth engagement as well as on the various modes of online engagement. This national survey of 4,500 young people aged 18 to 30 years old.The 2017 Barometer records an increase in online engagement: 41% of young people aged 18 to 30 have signed a petition or defended a cause on the Internet, a blog, a social network (35% in 2015). The multiplication of citizen platforms, especially in a context of presidential campaign (the survey was conducted in January and February 2017) may explain this evolution. This relatively high level of online engagement of 18-30 year olds is to be compared to the relatively low (and decreasing) level of physical participation, in demonstrations, strikes or occupation of places: these forms of mobilization had concerned only 13% of 18-30 year olds in 2017 compared to 16% in 2015 (a year, it is true, marked by the Republican marches organized in the wake of the attacks against Charlie Hebdo in January 2015).Online engagement increases with degree level: 45% of graduates with a bachelor's degree or higher have participated in an online petition or cause compared to 35% of non-graduates.  Young women (47%) were more likely than young men (35%) to be engaged online. The Capacity survey found that women were more likely to sign petitions. Voting in elections is still the most effective way to make a difference Adherence to this conventional form of contribution to public life is less marked among young people (29%) than among their elders (40%). "The increase in interest in voting with age is not a new phenomenon: older French people traditionally show a preference for conventional forms of participation. Already in 2007, 70% of those aged 65 and over felt that voting was the most effective way to participate, compared to 59% of French people overall. With this nuance in mind, it is not insignificant to note that, even within this age group that is more mobilized by other forms of action, voting remains the most effective form of action on reality. The various forms of participation in public life tend to be cumulative "The general awareness of commitment to certain causes appears to be a determining factor in online commitment or through events. For example, young people who are members of associations, volunteers, or those who want to become volunteers are more likely than others to use online forms of participation or events. Conversely, young people who do not wish to get involved in a cause are on the whole more resistant to any form of involvement, including one-off and online", emphasizes the Credoc, which concludes that "far from being in competition, the different forms of participation in public life tend to be cumulative".The survey was conducted online from January 19 to February 9, 2017, among a representative sample of 4,541 young people aged 18 to 30 residing in France (including overseas territories), selected using the quota method.

• Inclusion

Published on 13/12/17



Youth Barometer: digital engagement, the primary mode of participation in public life for 18-30 year olds

Youth is regularly qualified by the media and political discourse as "disengaged, apolitical, individualistic and apathetic" observe the authors of the "Youth Barometer". Youth Barometer. " Sociological field surveys reveal, however, that the commitment of young people, in the broadest sense, is not weakening, and is even tending to progress and change.This national survey, led by the Directorate of Youth, Popular Education and Associative Life (DJEPVA), is conducted among 4,500 young people aged 18 to 30.The 2019 Barometer thus records " a slight increase in youth engagement." Digital engagement, the main avenue for youth action in public lifeIn 2019, digital engagement (" having signed a petition or advocated for a cause via the internet, a blog, a social network in the past 12 months") is among young people the main route to action in public life (45%). The proportion has increased steadily since the first wave of the barometer in 2016, and has risen a total of 9 points in the space of four years. Beyond the diffusion on social networks, the progression of these practices among young people is likely to be linked to the success of online petitions, several of which gathered millions of people in 2019.CREDOC's Living Conditions and Aspirations survey of the French population as a whole confirms this particular infatuation of young people with online engagement (whether through petitions or defending a cause on the internet, a blog, a social network): the digital engagement observed in the population as a whole is lower and has remained stable in the meantime (32 percent in 2017 and 31 percent in 2019).Volunteer work, with a little more than a third of young people involved (37%), remains, in 2019, the second most popular form of commitment among young French people; its evolution is slightly upward since 2016 (+ 2 points). Predominance of young women in digital engagement practicesNearly one in two young women (49% to be exact) say they "signed a petition or advocated for a cause via the internet, a blog or a social network " in 2019 compared to only 40% of their male counterparts. This predominance of women in the practice of digital engagement has also been highlighted in other studies of all age groups. Young men, on the other hand, are more present in other types of participation: volunteer work (43% of men vs. 31% of women), participation in public consultations (12% vs. 6%), membership in a political party (7% vs. 3%), participation in demonstrations, strikes or occupations (22% of men vs. 12% of women).other studiesThe level of education also influences the type of participation. Youth with a bachelor's degree and above are more likely to "sign petitions on the Internet" (46%), compared to 38% of youth with less than a bachelor's degree. On the other hand, young people with a degree below the baccalaureate (23%) participate more in physical modes of expression: a demonstration, a blockade of a place or a strike."volunteering your time".Digital engagement (through online petitions, participation in social networks or blogs), on the other hand, is identical regardless of employment status: the share of students and employed youth is similar (45%), as it was already in 2016 (36% for young students and 37% for students), and regardless of the social categories to which the youth feel they belong.

• Large surveys

Published on 03/09/20



What role does the Internet play in young people's civic involvement?

The Youth Barometer, carried out by the Centre de recherche pour l'étude et l'observation des conditions de vie (CREDOC) on behalf of the Direction de la jeunesse, de l'éducation populaire et de la vie associative (DJEPVA), is an annual survey of 4,500 young people aged 18 to 30 in France and its overseas territories. Each year, the survey aims to capture young people's state of mind, their satisfaction with their current life and their outlook on their future prospects.The 2023 Barometer also looks at young people's civic involvement: volunteering, joining a political party or trade union, taking part in a demonstration or strike, participating in a public consultation, taking part in civil disobedience actions, signing a petition or defending a cause on the Internet, a blog or a social network. The new generations have multiple modes of engagement, and 2022 marked a return to pre-Covid behaviours, while 2020 and 2021 were marked by a decline in certain forms of engagement as a result of limited social interaction during the health crisis.In 2023, all forms of political and civic involvement are on the rise compared to 2022, with the exception of online involvement, observes CREDOC. While online engagement (petitions, blogs, social networks) remains the most widespread form of civic involvement among young people (40% of 18-30 year-olds), it will continue to decline (-4 points compared to 2022).This mode of engagement is slightly more widespread among 18-30 year-olds, than among the over-30s, 32% of whom have engaged online.Among 18-30 year-olds, the most educated are the most involved in this type of action: 43% of those with a baccalaureate or higher, versus 32% of those without a baccalaureate.Thus, the return to traditional forms of political engagement (joining a political party, taking part in a demonstration), already observed in 2022, is confirmed and continues. This downward trend in online citizen participation (the peak having been reached in early 2020, after 4 years of increase) "seems to confirm the hypothesis of a movement away from these forms of digital engagement after the over-investment of screens during the health crisis"." The rise in negative experiences linked to private publications on networks, noted in the 2022 digital barometer, probably also contributes to the stagnation of this mode of expression" comments CREDOC.

• Citizenship

Published on 24/11/23