Building a typology of young people's conventional and online political participation: A randomized mobile phone survey in Hong Kong, China

Previous studies of the impact of social media on youth's participation in politics are largely inconclusive. It is partly attributable to a diverse conceptualization of political participation and media use. Using a holistic definition of political participation and an analytical approach of building a typology of political participation, this study constructed a four-group typology for young people's political participation in a randomized mobile phone interview with 672 Hong Kong respondents aged 20-29 years. Four groups were identified: critical citizens (14%); modestly politically active nonvoters (15%); voters (29%); and disengaged individuals (42%). The respondents' media use and political characteristics were also examined. The study suggests that the theoretical relationship between political participation and new media use should be contextualized into a specific dimension of political activities and a definite group of individuals.