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.
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