Informace o publikaci
Scrolling from the margins: The social media and perceived political visibility of youth living in peripheral areas
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| Rok publikování | 2026 |
| Druh | Další prezentace na konferencích |
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| Popis | Social networking sites (SNS) shape how youth engage with politics, yet existing research largely treats young people as a homogeneous demographic, neglecting geographic disparities and the symbolic dimension of political recognition. What has not been particularly studied is how young people in peripheries experience SNS as a space where political visibility, particularly feeling seen or overlooked, is mediated. Ignoring this "double vulnerability" of age and spatial marginalization can exacerbate their feelings of being "forgotten" or "left behind" which can contribute to disengagement, radicalization, or support for populist parties or populist ideas. Drawing on recognition theory and relational approaches to peripherality, we conceptualize perceptions of political visibility as a form of symbolic recognition, shaped by encounters with SNS content that either facilitates or hinders peripheral experiences. We aim to fill the gap by focusing on how youth in peripheral regions make sense of their political visibility through everyday encounters with SNS, focusing on forms of political information exposure to social media content and visuals such as memes and reels. Key questions include: How does exposure to political and visual content on social media shape young people’s perceptions of political visibility in peripheral areas? We will conduct 20–25 semi-structured interviews with youth aged 18–25 residing in geographically peripheral areas, using visual prompts and guided SNS walkthroughs to capture their interpretations of content. We anticipate that SNS content reflecting peripheral experiences can enhance perceptions of political visibility and mitigate feelings of being left behind, whereas content disconnected from these experiences may reinforce invisibility and alienation. In particular, when people find content on SNS that is consistent with their peripheral experiences, i.e., content with which they can identify, SNS can serve as a kind of "center" that can help them overcome feelings of marginalization. This study contributes to research on youth political engagement by conceptualizing perceived political visibility as a key mechanism linking SNS use to engagement of youth in peripheral regions. It advances the study of peripherality as a relational experience shaped by digital media and highlights social media as a site where symbolic recognition and political inclusion are negotiated. |
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