Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) - Volume 24 - Issue 1 - Political Culture and Internet Use Among Young Brazilians

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆

The paper analyzes whether internet and social network usage shapes an assertive political culture among young people in South Brazil, despite continuing apathy toward politics. Survey data from secondary school students in Porto Alegre (2015 and 2019) assess values tied to democracy, feelings about politics, responsiveness, and political efficacy. Findings confirm persistent youth apathy, while socialization through new agents shows a closer alignment with an assertive political culture.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Political culture, socialization, and internet among young people

Data and research approach

Analysis by socialization agents and political culture variables

Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE), Volume 24, Issue 1, Winter 2022 What is the political culture for young Brazilians? The process of political socialization through social networks Ana Julia Bonzanini Bernardi Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Andressa Liegi Vieira Costa University of Lisbon Jennifer Azambuja de Morais Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul In this paper, we sought to analyze if the internet and social networks usage could be impacting the constitution of an assertive political culture among young people in South Brazil. We hypothesize that although these new socialized agents are widespread among the young, apathy and disinterest in politics remain. To test our hypothesis, we analyzed data from a survey conducted with secondary school students from Porto Alegre in 2015 and 2019 for values related to democracy, feelings about politics, responsiveness, and political efficacy. Results confirm that the political culture of the young remains apathetic, but those socialized by new agents seem to be closer to developing an assertive type of political culture. Keywords: Brazil, youth, political culture, political socialization, social networks Introduction The apathy for political affairs among young people is not recent in the Brazilian scenario. Low levels of political interest, participation, and distrust of youth corroborate the establishment of a hostile political culture towards democracy and its institutions, leading the youth to disbelief in politics (Baquero, 2018) . The novelty appears with the usage of new information and communication technologies, especially within the internet and social networks, which are becoming a socializing agent of the new generations, aside from family, school, and other media types. In addition, the internet is enabling different forms of interaction and social participation, which allows young people to publicly express their views on politics, creating a new space for free-speech interaction. This possibility impacts political socialization, which comprehends the process of internalization of norms, traditions, and political values of the society. In this sense, this article proposes the following question: “Is the use of internet and social networks impacting the constitution of a civic political culture of the Brazilian youth?” In this regard, we aim to verify if the appropriation of the internet and social networks by young people impacts their interest, participation, and trust in politics. Our main hypothesis is that, even though it is a new socializing agent, the internet is not corroborating the © 2022, Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 24(1), 78-95. What is the political culture for young Brazilians? internalization of more democratic values, furthermore, maintaining the low level of interest in politics. According to Dayrell (2003), youth is constituted by a series of experiences lived by individuals in different contexts, from socioeconomic, ethnic, generational, and even geographic contexts, with different ways of interpreting politics and democracy. Especially within the context of social inequality existing in the country, it is clear that there is no homogeneous youth, but rather youth(s) as a plural. In this paper, we explore the youth(s) between 13 and 25 years old attending secondary school in the city of Porto Alegre, south of Brazil. This paper applies a quantitative protocol through survey data used for descriptive and inferential data analysis to meet its purpose. Data consists of surveys conducted by the Latin America Research Center (NUPESAL / UFRGS)1 in the scope of the project“Democracy, media, and social capital: A comparative study of the political socialization of young people in southern Brazil”, coordinated by Marcello Baquero and Rodrigo González. Surveys were applied in 2015 and 2019,

FAQs

What is the main research question of the study?

The study asks whether using the internet and social networks impacts the formation of a civic political culture among Brazilian youth.

How is the study tested empirically?

It uses survey data from secondary school students in Porto Alegre collected in 2015 and 2019, analyzing indicators related to democracy, feelings about politics, responsiveness, and political efficacy.

What do the results show about youth political culture?

Youth political culture remains largely apathetic, although those socialized by new agents appear closer to developing an assertive political culture.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆