Mexican university students: citizen participation, democracy and digital social networks

This text analyzes some dimensions regarding the construction of citizenship among university students: their views on democracy and elections, as well as the actions carried out to participate in person (offline) and through digital social networks (online). Information was retrieved from a questionnaire applied to young Mexican students from three different institutions of higher education. Results shows that the students perceive a broken and non-existent democracy; this opinion divides those who consider that this type of regime is better than an authoritarian one and those who point out that it would be better to have tough leaders. Moreover, the actions they carry out in public life are minimal and focus on the protection of animals and the signing of protest briefs. Finally, students place great value on women's participation in public and political life. This writing provides various avenues for future research that focus on citizenship education and youth political participation.