Abstract
Teens and Young adults are adopting internet-based tools, websites, and applications as sources of information and discussion on political matters. Age is currently a better indicator of political engagement online than both education and income. As this younger generation becomes part of political life, their comfort with online political engagement will likely continue. But what does this mean for the more traditional types of political activity in which people engage offline? The purpose of this study is to address that question, taking an exploratory look at the relationship between online and offline political engagement among American youth. To address the research question, I used panel survey data from the 2013 and 2014 waves of the Youth Participatory Politics Survey conducted by the Growth from Knowledge Group as part of the MacArthur Network on Youth and Participatory Politics. I focus on overall political engagement as well as two specific activities that have direct online and offline counterparts, joining a political group and signing a petition. I concluded that there is a strong positive relationship between online and offline political engagement for both waves of the survey. Additionally, participating in a political activity that has a direct offline counterpart is associated with an even higher likelihood of participating in both forms of political activity. Issues of establishing causal order remain. However, my research suggests that, at minimum, concern that online activity is preventing young people from engaging in traditional politics may be misplaced.