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Journal of Promotional Communications

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Published

2015-07-07

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2015): Special Issue on Voice and Representation of Marginal Groups

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Articles

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Tuning out or Tuned out? A Critical Discourse Analysis of Youth Political Participation in Britain

Lucy Charlotte Smith

Bournemouth University

Shelley Thompson

Abstract

Young people do not vote in the same numbers as older generations, which causes considerable concern within British democratic life. They are seen as detached and disengaged, however, the focus on voting and other traditional forms of political participation is arguably a narrow way of assessing this generation’s political engagement. This paper discusses a critical discourse analysis of recent media texts on youth political participation and argues that media coverage of young people’s political participation furthers this misconception that the youth of Britain today are not interested in politics and political issues. We argue that notions of youth political participation must extend beyond traditional political engagement, namely voting.

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