Civic intentionality in youth media participation: the case of Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss changing perspectives observed and collected from 10 focus groups conducted with teenagers in Hong Kong between 2012 and 2017. It has identified a growing sense of distrust and fear about online participation. It found that young people were increasingly aware of the public nature of social media and exercised great cautions in their online activities, resulting in more notable non-participation. In addition to refraining from various risky behaviours, informants demonstrated a strong tendency of self-surveillance. Despite the normative and affirmative biases generally associated with participation, this paper argued that participation was not necessarily desirable in the eyes of young internet users in Hong Kong. It revisited the meanings of participation in varying contexts, followed by an updated account of Hong Kong situation. Findings from focus groups are presented with further discussion about risky online participation and their implications to media literacy education.

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