“Vi lever också i samhället”. En kvalitativ studie om ungas uppfattning av deras representation i traditionella medier och hur det påverkar deras samhällsengagemang

Abstract

Abstract Title: “Vi lever också i samhället” – En kvalitativ studie om ungas uppfattning av deras representation i traditionella medier och hur det påverkar deras samhällsengagemang Authors: Ella Gustafsson, Elin Gustavsson och Julia Stjernberg Level: Bachelor thesis in Journalism Term: HT 2024 Supervisor: Bengt Johansson Aim of thesis: The main purpose of this study is to investigate how upper secondary school students perceive their representation in traditional news media and how they perceive that this representation affects their civic engagement. Theoretical framework: To answer the questions of the study we have used three different theories. These theories are Iris Marion Young’s view of the deliberative theory of democracy, the theory of diversity by Denis McQuail, and Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition. Method: The method chosen for the study was qualitative conversational interviews with upper secondary school students from different study programs in Sweden. In the study, five conversational interviews with a total of 16 students were conducted. Conversational interviews were chosen as our method, since discussions between the students themselves were possible, which led to a deeper understanding of the subjective thoughts of the youth themselves on topics such as news, representation, and civic engagement. Results: The respondents in our study see news as a source of information about important societal events, both globally and locally. They receive news through social media, family, friends, and traditional media. Interest in news varies, but tends to increase when events directly affect the individuals themselves or society at large. The upper secondary school students feel that their representation in the traditional Swedish news media is limited and often framed negatively. They also emphasize the importance of news reflecting society as a whole, and the need to raise young people’s voices. The upper secondary school students also concluded that positive representation in the news can increase their civic engagement by inspiring and motivating them. In contrast, negative representation such as exclusion contributes to feelings of powerlessness and alienation.