Youth and political participation in Colombia’s east: the role of social networks and the mass media

Abstract

The investigation focuses on the political participation mechanisms that young people from Colombia’s east tend to use more often and, also, on the usage and appropriation of the digital social networks. Likewise, this paper refers to the mass media with the highest consumption and incidence in political and electoral decisions, as well as to the social conditioning factors that intervene in them. The methodology was carried out under a mixed focus, with qualitative prevalence, and with a sample of “typical or intensive” typology of a probabilistic nature under selection criteria. It was highlighted that young people use and appropriate social networks aiming to socialize and, through them and traditional media, they inform themselves about the public agenda. Among the conclusions, it is worth noting that young people from Colombia’s east perform multi-communication processes, with a permanent interaction in more than one direction and with diverse individuals.