Political Inequalities Start at Home: Parents, Children, and the Socialization of Civic Infrastructure Online

Kjerstin Thorson*, Yu Xu, Stephanie Lynn Edgerly

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

We use a two-wave panel survey of parent-child dyads in the United States to connect online democratic divides with the unequal socialization of political interest in the home. We test a model connecting parent socioeconomic status to the amount of political communication in the home and the subsequent development of youth political interest over the course of an election cycle. We develop the theoretical concept of online civic infrastructure to foreground how interest-driven social media use in adolescence may shape future opportunities for civic and political engagement by building network connections and opening up flows of communication that carry news, political information, and opportunities for mobilization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)178-195
Number of pages18
JournalPolitical Communication
Volume35
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 3 2018

Keywords

  • political interest
  • social media
  • socialization
  • youth participation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Sociology and Political Science

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