Intergenerational Digital and Democratic Divide: Comparative Analysis of Unconventional and Digital Activism around the World

Abstract

Social and political activism is one of the pillars of a country's political culture and democratic health. The latest wave of the World Values Survey with a sample of 67,267 respondents in 46 countries, collects two sets of questions on unconventional political actions face-to-face and digitally. A typology of activism and two scales of face-to-face and digital activism (FUPAS and DUPAS) have been obtained. A democratic gap is found between those who participate and those who do not, and another digital gap between those who participate face-to-face and digitally. Its impact has been evaluated by age, more active and more digital young people, and by country, the most active and digital developed countries. Educating for digital citizenship becomes a priority to overcome the divides and improve democratic health.