Engaging Young People in the spaces where they are: an interview with Graham West, MP Minister for Youth, NSW Government, Australia

The New South Wales (NSW) Government in Australia has commenced an examination of the use of online social networking technologies to consult with young people and their communities. The primary area of interest has been the use of such technologies to enhance engagement with young people in NSW – mainly 9-18 years of age. This demographic is notoriously difficult to engage with in terms of government policies, social issues and civic matters. Young people do not generally react positively to messages being pushed at them, or offers to engage with government directly via well crafted web sites. Unless young people are already interested in politics and social matters, they tend to avoid such web sites. However, new Web 2.0 social networking technologies offer a different mode of engagement and new possibilities for social change. The massive upsurge in social networking sites has seen a new kind of social phenomenon emerge. This comprises a highly focused, self managed set of micro communities based around networks of " friends ". It reflects and amplifies the youth culture – close connections, instant messages, and high levels of feedback, intimate conversations and group interaction. MySpace, BeBo, Facebook, Friendster, Twitter and others are examples of accessible, open and instantaneous social technologies being taken up by millions of young people across Australia and across the world. Young people use the technologies to stay in touch