How are civic cultures achieved through youth social-change-oriented vlogging? A multimodal case study

Abstract

Debate over conceptual definitions is prominent within the body of literature dealing with emerging patterns of civic engagement and political participation among youth information and communication technology–enabled politics. This article contends that advancing new knowledge in this field is also dependent upon fine-grained empirical analysis of digital traces of youth participation. Drawing on a close analysis of two youth-produced vlogs, we show that adolescents’ commitment to social change can be creatively achieved through video making. Informed by a socio-semiotic approach to multimodal analysis and by Peter Dahlgren’s concept of online civic cultures, our qualitative analysis highlights two main patterns we found in young people’s vlogs aimed at raising awareness about social issues. First, we found that to impact their intended audiences, vloggers presented themselves as creative choice makers and as savvy insiders of youth civic cultures on YouTube. Second, we found that vloggers successfully managed the risk of being the target of online hostility using rhetorical devices and tactics that smoothed counterpositions. Overall, our multimodal case study shows that contrary to traditional approaches to successful communication based on textual coherence, a mix of consistency, disruption, and contradiction can be used purposefully in public speech in order to manage difficult, risky topics. As we demonstrate that visual-based communication on social network sites such as vlogs posted on YouTube is not neat and tidy, we illuminate the vloggers’ shifting identities, opinions, and concerns. This evidence-based observation calls for more in-depth small case qualitative analyses for investigating the multiple affordances of civic talk online and its democratic potential. This article contributes to the ongoing conceptual redefinition of youth civic engagement and political participation in the face of fast-evolving sociotechnical change.

Searching for Oneself on YouTube: Teenage Peer Socialization and Social Recognition Processes

“…Teenage YouTube communities develop, in part, through the shared “values and discourses around authenticity and social connexion” (Burgess & Green, 2018, p. 95). Analyzing teenage vlogs through the lens of socialization is, therefore, fitting insomuch as these contents specifically deal with relevant teenage issues such as puberty, first dates, cultural consumption, school life, or gender identity (Balleys, 2017; Caron et al, 2018; Saul, 2010). YouTubers discuss teenage concerns and questions while providing identity models (Balleys, 2017; Caron et al, 2018; Rotman & Preece, 2010).…”

“…Analyzing teenage vlogs through the lens of socialization is, therefore, fitting insomuch as these contents specifically deal with relevant teenage issues such as puberty, first dates, cultural consumption, school life, or gender identity (Balleys, 2017; Caron et al, 2018; Saul, 2010). YouTubers discuss teenage concerns and questions while providing identity models (Balleys, 2017; Caron et al, 2018; Rotman & Preece, 2010). They film themselves in their bedrooms—often sitting on their beds—and address their audience looking right at the camera.…”

“…It is both a platform for creative youth practices (Burgess & Green, 2018) and a standardized teenage reference system (Balleys, 2017; Garcìa-Rapp & Roca-Cuberes, 2017). Several studies have investigated young people and YouTube; in particular, broadcast-oriented studies have looked at musical bedroom performances (Michielse, 2018), YouTube beauty communities (García-Rapp, 2018), “toy unboxing” video productions (Nicoll & Nansen, 2018), online practices of male self-expression (Balleys, 2018; Maloney et al, 2018; Saul, 2010), self-representation in transgender youth videos (O’Neill, 2014; Raun, 2018), vlogging about school experiences (Snelson, 2015), about everyday experience of racism (Banaji, 2013), and civic engagement (Caron et al, 2018). The uniqueness of this article, however, is the simultaneous study of both content production and reception processes within the context of teenage socialization and media practices.…”

Affective design and memetic qualities: Generating affect and political engagement through bushfire TikToks

“…Our approach to the TikToks was informed by advice from other researchers who have argued for the need to adopt an analytical strategy which attends to the multidimensionality of digital media. Caron et al (2018, p. 700), for example, in a study of youth civic culture on YouTube use a process of ‘chunking’ videos into segments or scenes for analysis so that they do not lose sight of where multiple modes ‘come together’. Similarly, Marone (2017, p. 53) observes that a dynamic strategy which goes beyond ‘decoding’ is necessary in interpreting audio-visual content on social media as it focuses our understanding on ‘the contexts and cultures in which such texts are created, shared, and experienced’.…”

Costume Play and Young Adults’ Socio-Economic Insertion Pathways in Japan

“…This definition can be expanded to include the range of daily cultural practices that create places of exchange for both dominant and alternative cultures (Poirier 2013). It seems that young people are more likely to use cultural practices to assume the role of citizen and participate in social and political life (Caron et al 2018). Analyzing how they participate, with whom and for what purpose is of importance to understand how culture helps to construct their sense of belonging and how it gives meaning to their lives.…”