Youth online participation in government decision making

Online participation in government decision making using the Internet and social networking technologies are expected to advance democracy, improve government decisions, increase citizens' trust in government, and enhance government accountability and transparency. Technologically savvy, immersed in the Internet and social networking, young citizens are creating new opportunities for governments to engage them online in consultative and decision making processes. However, not much is known about how to encourage young people to participate and engage online in these processes on a large scale. Their motivations for, and impediments to, participation are not well understood (Coleman, 2008). This paper contributes to better understanding of online youth participation and challenges of increasing participation by i) proposing a framework to explore levels of e-participation (the 'engagement ladder'), ii) presenting a field study of youth (aged 9-18) online participation in government decision making on public spending, and iii) by discussing field study results, including some practical problems and theoretical concerns for climbing the engagement ladder. The study confirmed young people's willingness to participate in government consultation then they believe in its authenticity and when they are engaged in their natural habitat - social networking spaces. The paper discusses features of consultation that motivated increasing participation and those that impeded it.