Abstract
The «Politics for all - bridging the sociodemographic divide»-project analyses the causes of political disinterest among children and young people. This multi-stage project aims to motivate young people to participate in politics in the long term. A central component of the project is developing a serious game that aims to promote intrinsic motivation for political participation in a playful way. Studies show that people with a higher level of education and higher income tend to be more politically active (Bundesamt für Statistik, 2019). This unequal participation can be attributed back to the socioeconomic background, which largely determines how people experience and access politics. The theoretical basis of this study is Tichenor, Donohue, and Olien’s (1970) knowledge gap hypothesis, which states that access to knowledge is unevenly distributed across the population. People with a higher socioeconomic status and better education generally have more access to information, especially through the mass media. As a first step, a quantitative online survey of Swiss children and adolescents was undertaken in March 2024, yielding 865 valid questionnaires. A survey on various aspects of political participation and media use was conducted to explore possible causes of political disinterest among children and young people, particularly in a socio-economic context. The survey results show that the sociodemographic background plays an important role in political participation. In comparison, young people with a lower socioeconomic status show less interest in political participation.
Presenters
Yvonne Herzig GainsfordResearch Associate, Institute for Multimedia Production, University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, Switzerland Amina Ovcina Cajacob
Professor and Module Leader Market and Media Research, Institute for Multimedia Production, University of Applied Sciences of Technology and Economics (FHGR), Graubünden (de), Switzerland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
POLITICS, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDE, YOUNG PEOPLE, SERIOUS GAME, SURVEY
