Title dissertation:
Distributed Citizenship in Sociotechnical Contexts: Insights from Young Adults’ Political Engagement on Social Media
Topic trial lecture:
Discuss how young European adults’ political engagement on social media relates to different democracies and political systems, emphasising historical developments, sociotechnical contexts, and societal impacts.
Time for trial lecture: 10:15 – 11:15
Time for public defence: 12:15 – 15:30
Place: Levanger, Oransjesalen and digitally
Chair of defence: Dean Elisabet Ljunggren
Assessment committee:
- Associate Professor Gitte Bang Stald, IT University of Copenhagen
- Professor Vilde Schanke Sundet, OsloMet
- Associate Professor Egil Rogstad, Nord University
Supervisors:
- Main supervisor: Professor Astrid Marie Holand, Nord University
- Internal co-supervisor: Professor Lisbeth Morlandstø, Nord University
- External co-supervisor: Professor Melanie Magin, NTNU
The thesis is available for viewing by contacting Anneli Watterud, anneli.m.watterud@nord.no.
About the thesis:
This thesis investigates how young adults in Norway understand and navigate citizenship in social media environments. It draws on an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design combining qualitative mini-focus groups and a national survey. Across four empirical articles, the thesis examines self-presentation and boundary management on social media, how citizens assess the worthwhileness of political content, practices of “active spectating” such as monitoring and critical consumption, and the diversity of citizenship orientations among Norwegian young adults.
Together, the findings demonstrate that citizenship in digital environments extends beyond visible political expression. Receptive, evaluative, and curational practices play important roles in sustaining public connection and democratic discourse. Expectations for civic participation are negotiated in situ, shaped by social and technological contexts rather than fixed democratic ideals. Drawing on deliberative systems theory, the thesis develops a framework of distributed citizenship, conceptualising civic engagement as a collective and cooperative endeavour in which different forms of engagement gain meaning through their relationship to one another.
