Youth Social Network Use And Civic Engagement

With the increasing maturity of Internet technology and the development of mobile Internet technology,social networking has become an important venue for people to disseminate information and communicate,profoundly changing the way people obtain information and interpersonal communication patterns.The social network platforms,represented by Weibo and WeChat,have created new channels for civic engagement.Since the birth of the Internet,scholars began to study the relationship between the Internet and civic engagement.In the era of social network,civic engagement is still an important topic for our research.This study takes young people as the research object,and mainly discusses the two major motivations for the use of social networks:the information use of social networks,the social use of social networks,the impact of online and offline civic engagement,at the same time the social capital theory is introduced to illustrate the relations between the motivation of social network usage and civic engagement.The study found that,firstly,there is a direct correlation between the motivation of social network usage and civic engagement.The information use of social networks has a positive impact on online civic engagement.The social use of social networks has a positive effect both on online and offline civic engagement.Secondly,there is an indirect correlation between the motivation of social network usage and civic engagement.Social capital plays an important mediating role.The information use of social networks has a positive impact on online civic engagement by promoting bridging social capital.The social use of social networks has a positive impact on offline civic engagement by promoting bonding social capital.Thirdly,the frequency of contact with traditional media and new media is positively related to online and offline civic engagement.Therefore,the use of social networks based on specific motivations can promote the participation of citizens.People use the social networks by increasing the individual's social capital,and promote people online and offline civic engagement.Relevant government departments can combine traditional media and new media to promote relevant content of civic engagement,cooperate with the introduction of relevant policies and regulations,protect online and offline civic engagement,attach importance to the role played by social networks,and expand the participation of citizens in the depth and breadth.