The Internet, youth participation policies, and the development of young people's political identities in Australia

In Australia, renewed interest in the principles of youth participation during the last decade has led to an increase in the development of youth participation policies, in both the government and non-government sectors. At the same time, the internet is being increasingly utilised to promote and implement the aims of these youth participation policies. This paper asks, what is the relationship between youth participation policies, the internet and young people's political identities? Is the internet simply a vehicle for participation policies – a mechanism for governments and organisations to extend their reach to otherwise disengaged youth? Or is it a space where young people are authoring new forms of participation and political identities? It is argued in this paper that the internet is significant in shaping the relationship between youth participation policies and new political identities in the following ways: it is a unique and autonomous platform for the realisation of project-based political identities; it is a legitimising space for new political practices of young people; and, though it can address some barriers to participation, there is little evidence to suggest that it challenges the economic structural disadvantage that can exclude certain groups of young people. Drawing on empirical research conducted in Australia, this paper provides insights into Australian young people's experiences of participation, their attitudes to participation policies, and the role of the internet in their participatory activities