![]() This research set out to investigate whether using mobile phones to increase participation in local government would be acceptable or not. They have been used to mobilise people in different parts of the world, more notably those who were passive politically, into action. Mobile phones cut across socio-economic barriers and have changed the way we communicate. The South African Constitution makes several provisions for public participation but E-government solutions are not suited to the South African context, where fixed-line internet penetration is dramatically lower than that of mobile phones. Key words: Namibia, youth, Africa politics, affective publics, digital literacy, social media, digital democracyĪpathy towards political participation is of concern for many countries throughout the world, and for many people political participation means no more than voting in an election. The findings reveal that the youth and political leaders use social media for digital skilling and literacy digital political site for leisure entertainment and engagement as affective publics promote direct and indirect digital democracy, despite network connectivity issues and the high unemployment rate. This 7 months ethnography, explores how the youth in the Ohangwena Regional Youth Forum use mobile social media to participate in regional and local politics by using participant observations, semi-structured interviews and content analysis of seven Facebook pages and two WhatsApp groups. Studies from the global north have established a vibrant scholarship about the transformative influence these digital platforms have on direct democracy with limited empirical evidence whether this applies to contexts beyond the west. In the last five years, Namibia has experienced an increase in the presence of people on social media platforms, creating various debates on its impact on citizen engagement in the political sphere. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |