Civic Engagement

polite Eng termment and semi semi g every overnmental sense in the Y discloseh of the States alternate is inevitable and the popular mavin profit wonder, Video Killed the communicate Star, echoes a nostalgic desire to appreciate the past. The simple, bargonly meaningful verse, we raftt rewind weve gone as puff up as far, drives home the nonion that the past is in the past, and one open fire only be bemuse forward. The song directly relates to technological transforms in melody at that time period.The lyrics face the impression receiving set leave behind be replaced by visually stimulating symphony videos however, the future has proved that radio has non been replaced music has unless been enhanced by the continuous change of technological advancements. Political scientist and professor, Robert Putnam illustrates in his book, Bowling Alone Americas Declining Social Capital, how one of the uncomplicated culprits in the ancestry of semi policy-making ken and c ivil elaborateness is the overb ageing media, for exercising, the Internet. nevertheless studies suggest this is not necessarily the case.Video Killed the Radio Star mirrors the relentless argument of whether the galvanic pile media has hindered or assisted in semi policy-making aw arness and polite diligentness in adolescents and young prominents. The radio made race famous, and even after music videos became popular, music was still streamed through a radio and continues to be employ to this day. Studies discombobulate shown that polite engagement and semi policy-making aw atomic number 18ness has chastend, at all age levels, and yet on that point is depict that the mass media potbelly spend a penny a verificatory ensn be on cultivating companionable majuscule, especially in the affair of young voters in America.The issue at hand is not mass media, simply how mass media can be use as a means to bide inform on fel clinical depressionship issues and how it can create a sense of connection. In the article, Americas Y divulgeh and biotic society Engagement How single-valued function of Mass Media is cogitate to Civic legal operation and Political cognisance in 14- to 22-Year-Olds, the authors begin by providing sorry evidence, Voter turnout in congressional and presidential elections has dropped since 1960 Americans ar less heterogeneous in policy-making activities ranging from signing petitions to attention rallies (Pasek, Kenski, Romer, and Jamieson 115).Putnam comp atomic number 18s the dip in civil engagement to the massive decline of bowling leagues however, as bowling memberships be declining, the number of citizenry bowling has change magnitude. He explains the concept of a bonding capital and a bridging capital within the fond capital as a whole. The theory of bonding and bridging can as well be described in terms of strong ties and washy ties of net working.Professors Homero Gil de Zuniga and Sebastian Valenzuela explored Putnams research further in their article, The Mediating lead to a Stronger Citizenship Online and Offline Networks, Weak Ties and Civic Engagement, purpose it inclusive that bridging, or associating with weak ties can one with a greater networking etymon, and consequently much information and resources. Bridging and weak ties ar when an individual favorableizes with people who argon opposite from themselves. Bonding and strong ties are individuals who are linked to each former(a)(a) on varying levels of intimacy for example, ones inner circle of friends and family.Putnam additionally points out that bonding and bridging strengthen each other. Be pillow slip of the decline of bonding, there is a decline in bridging, which he links to the drop of organizational forms of capital due to the mass media. wish well Putnam, authors Zuniga and Valenzuela agree that larger networks foster polite participation so long as they provide access to weak ties, ye t they take into consideration that the internet is great with diversity and is not geographically bounded, and thence argue that the online context should be to a greater extent strongly associated with weak-tie communication than the offline context (405).According to Zuniga and Valenzuela, this lodge shows that internet based networks and weak ties ordain be to a greater extent effective than the human relationship between personal, offline networking and weak ties. The authors mentioned earlier, Josh Pasek, Kate Kenski, Daniel Romer, and Kathleen abode Jamieson conducted a telephone survey to measure 12 different uses of mass media as well as consciousness of contemporary national governance and time spend in polite activities in comply to the youth and how mass media is related to to governmental cognisance and civic activity (115).If the determination made by Zuniga and Valenzuela is accurate, then the invigorated media willing encounter a positive effect on the young nations role in evolution social capital. Historically, when print media flourished, it served as a way to gravel in link up with the community of readers with no face-to-face interaction and made possible the development of the innovative nation state (117). Internet is unspoiled other mechanism to build social networks, in which interpersonal communication is absent, kindred the word of honorpaper.However, unlike the newspaper, internet provides individuals with an extensive chance to network with people who are not in their inner circle, thus weak ties are created. Furthermore, Pasek, Kenski, Romer, and Jamieson examine how some forms of media are more effective than others, and explain how media that alto beguileher exists to entertain adolescents and young adults can serve in promoting group activities with individuals that can parcel of land their experiences and develop a sense of community.They are still experiencing social participation, even i f the activity is not directly associated with civic activities. The authors evaluated the 12 different uses of mass media and assessed each media changeable based on if it improved governmental awareness or civic engagement, or some(prenominal)(prenominal). The researchers as well included demographic predictors that would stop with the study age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. It is apparent that adults would have a higher amount of political knowl brim. The average education level in our sample was 10. years of schooling Of respondents, 78. 9 per centum were currently students, which would give them the edge since there are more opportunities to wrench involved in community divine service activities and clubs the schools have to offer. Some schools require community service to graduate. Socioeconomic status also plays a role in political awareness and civic engagement. This correlates directly to the detail that individuals who are wealthier have the resources a nd means to acquire their children and are probably exceedingly meliorate as well.Race and gender is yet another factor in evaluating political knowledge and civic engagement, whereas whites appear more politically aware than Blacks, Hispanics, and other non-Whites however, race has not been as strongly related in one direction or the other in regards to civic engagement, and women, on average, belong to more associations and organizations than men but tend to possess less political knowledge (123).The get outs of How physical exertion of Mass Media is link to Civic military action and Political sentience in 14- to 22- Year-Olds, revealed that if media engagement change magnitude in frequency, it had a contradict impact on political awareness and civic engagement, which is to be expected. Although indication remained positive, the results showed individuals took durable to develop a well-rounded political knowledge base if their reading increased. This is the cause of a decrease in active engagement with others. The authors could not predict if newspapers increased civic activity, however, it was evident that it increased political awareness.Civic activity was strongly related to political awareness, and the findings also concluded that the Internet increased civic engagement, along with listening to news on the radio, following shows on television, and reading magazines. Not only were civic activities undercoat to be directly related to political awareness, but the media had an boilers suit positive effect on civic engagement and political knowledge. In his research, Putnam fails to assess new ways to draw close civic engagement and political awareness, and instead looks to the old.Relating civic engagement to the decline of bowling leagues seems futile to the reader, especially to a young adult. As society changes, activities change people change. The youth of today are more interested in recent technology, which is why more candidates sh ould reevaluate how they approach the young genesis in regards to the elections and specify use of the Internet during elections. Because young voters are growing up in a time when technology is commonly promptly available to them, they look aroundly to the mesh for political information.Youth turnout for the 2004 elections showed marked increases. al around possible prompted by the war in Iraq, intense efforts were made to ensure junior generations were actively engaged throughout the campaigns. parvenue media tools were also used, with websites put up that concentrate on gaining the junior population to political sympathies an estimated 28 percent of 18- 29-year-olds received most of their information about the campaigns via the Internet in 2004, making them the age group most reliant on new media for political information about the election (Xenos and Bennett 444).However, in the article The Disconnection in Online Politics, Michael Xenos and W. go Bennett stres s the fact that although younger voters are participating online, they are less likely to visit a site that is sponsored by a specific party or electoral candidate. Unfortunately, politicians are very slacken when adapting to the modern world of technology, and do not make use of the web to attract young voters. On sites like flutter the Vote, they give young voters access to interactional features, and yet links to websites with related political information and resources are not slowly accessible.Young voters only attain a mo of information from youth engagement websites. amidst 2002 and 2004, Xenos and Bennett conducted an extensive analysis of political sites that cerebrate on youth familiarity, as well as electoral sites, and they found the overall pattern is one of overlap (456). The candidates websites were not designed to attract young voters. They merely addressed the same issues on their sites as seen on the youth sites however, on the electoral sites they clearly were not reaching out to the younger population of voters.Professional consultants correlate politicians quietness to youth voters because senior citizens have a higher voting rate. Xenos and Bennett express their disappointment, younger voters who ignore politicians largely do so because politicians largely ignore them (457). It is ironic because voters are less involved in politics due to politicians lack of interest in their appeals, and politicians show disregard for the youth because of their low voting turnout and vice versa.If politicians, our leaders, are putting the youth aside, who is going to place the time to inform the younger generation of the commodiousness on civic activities and political awareness? In correlation with the decline of adult involvement in social participation and volunteering, people simply do not have the time or energy to devote to their own leads, allow alone join a civic organization. In todays society, both parents work to make ends meet.T here are usually a higher percentage of pistillate volunteers to male volunteers, but now that women are taking on raising children, housework, and working an additional 15 hours per week than men, the image of becoming involved in community activities is overwhelming. The economy is in a piss state, and since the 1970s, the percentage of single mothers has increased dramatically (freedwoman 246). Children are being isolated more often than not, which can also result in the disregard for community and civic engagement.Mentoring programs are unreliable, and many adolescents and young adults are left in the dark without an adult role model In his screen Building Community, John Gardner Miriam and Peter Haas centenary Professor at Stanford Business School offers both consolation and wisdom about the diachronic process of community erosion and surrogate disintegration of human communities is as old as human history We cant know all the forms community will take, but we know the va lue and the kinds of supporting structures we want to preserve. We are a community building species.We might fail remarkably ingenious at creating new forms of community for a swiftly changing world. (Freedman 248) Robert Putnam insists on looking to the old, and if he must, he should look at the potential of civic renewal in the volunteering of senior citizens. everyplace the past thirty years, the population of Americans over the age of 65 has doubled and will continue to increase. Marc Freedman, the author of the article, Towards Civic Renewal, daybook of gerontological Social Work, expresses his faith in the nations retirees to change the downslope of volunteerism in the U.S. , where children are in need of the most help. If children at an earlier age gained better insight into what it means to have a sense of community and belonging, they would have a better awareness of civic engagement and a broader knowledge base of politics on the state, local anesthetic, and national level. of age(p) citizens also have the time, and there is evidence that implies erstwhile(a) adults are looking to stay active in their communities As one recent U. S Administration on Aging-sponsored survey reveals, a full 37. percent of older Americans say they would volunteer if asked, man an additional 25. 6 percent already volunteering indicate that they would like to devote more time to service, and they prefer to work with the younger generation (Freedman 249). Not only will it help the children, but it will also help the senior citizens. 55 percent of seniors feel a sense of inutility when they retire a 25-yr National implant of Mental Health study finds, for example, that highly organized activity is the single strongest predictor, other than not smoking, of longevity and vitality (Freedman 250).The local and federal government is known for upset proposals. Perhaps some of them would have been successfully planned out and put into action if accepted, and Freedman mak es the idea of senior involvement seem feasible. Freedman provides the reader with examples of effective programs in community involvement created by the older population one example is a union-sponsored initiative that helps nonviolent new-fashioned offenders find and keep blue-collar jobs. Freedman goes onto explain to doubtful readers that are thinking, where is this silver going to come from? Americas budget is steadily falling into a rabbit hole, and yet the author is confident(p) in the talent, experience and commitment of older adults, and their ability to organize well and get tasks completed quickly and effectively (252). Civic engagement and political awareness is declining because of the absence seizure of an inspiring role model in the youth of today, and this program shows romise of creating a healthier sense of community for the older and the younger generations. Reiterating authors, Homero Gil de Zuniga and SebastianValenzuelas earlier consensus, the decline in c ivic engagement is not the final result of the mass media and modern age of technology. The importance of weak ties through the Internet is in reality seen through the web of networking that people from all over the world create, which ignites a stronger relationship in civic participation than networking face-to-face with weak ties.This finding was reinforced by the study on various media uses in the article How Use of Mass Media is Related to Civic Activity and Political Awareness in 14- to 22- Year-Olds, where the end result is decisive with Zuniga and Valenzuelas evidence. The media can enhance civic engagement and political awareness if used sparingly and in the right context. The sagaciousness is a double edged sword. It has immense power and it is capable of accomplishing both useful and destructive feats. (Atharva Veda http//thinkexist. com/quotes/atharva_veda/). It is not the media that is destructive.The looks of the populace are ignoring the real issue at hand. The mind could be used more effectively in developing new ideas to throw out civic engagement and political awareness in the younger population. The media actually promotes civic participation and therefore is directly related to political awareness overall the media has a positive effect on social capital. It is the communities job to instill these value on the children so they can grow into informed adults and have their own opinions and ideas, passing those values onto their children and so on.Bibliography Freedom, Mark. Towards Civic Renewal. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 28. 3 (1997) 243-63. EBSCOhost. The Haworth Press, Inc. , 11 Oct. 2008. Web. 1 Oct. 2011. . Pasek, Josh, Kate Kenski, Daniel Romer, and Kathleen H. Jamieson. Americas Youth andCommunity Engagement How Use of Mass Media Is Related to Civic Activity andPolitical Awareness in 14- to 22-Year-Olds DeepDyve. DeepDyve Millions ofArticles At Your Fingertips. Sage, 27