A generational thing? The internet and new forms of social intercourse

1. We would like to acknowledge two generous research grants that have made the research upon which this article is based possible: (1) A grant from the European Commission's sixth framework program for the research undertaken within the project ‘Young People, the Internet and Civic Participation’ (2006–2009); (2) a grant from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation's research program ‘Young Net Cultures’ for the research project ‘Organized Producers of Net Culture: Actors, Practices, Ambitions’ (2009–2013).

Abstract

Drawing on the work of Karl Mannheim this article analyses the internet as a generational phenomenon. It makes use of two different, but in generational terms interrelated empirical materials. In the first case study, data from focus group interviews and individual interviews with a total 55 young Swedes (15–25 years). These data reveal how young Swedes tend to understand illegal file sharing as a generational issue. Among other things, they consider themselves rather than middle-aged politicians to be the actual legal authorities within the area.

Table 1 Focus groups.

The second case study is based on a youth council, Lunds ungdomsting. The research project started with an ambition to understand the internet's role in engaging young people. The initial analyses, however, revealed that although the internet plays a role, it cannot usefully be separated from other activities. We consider and analyse this observation through Mannheim's terminology: the youth council members' generational experience of the internet has naturalized it as a form of communication in a manner that makes distinctions between online and offline action obsolete.

Notes

1. We would like to acknowledge two generous research grants that have made the research upon which this article is based possible: (1) A grant from the European Commission's sixth framework program for the research undertaken within the project ‘Young People, the Internet and Civic Participation’ (2006–2009); (2) a grant from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation's research program ‘Young Net Cultures’ for the research project ‘Organized Producers of Net Culture: Actors, Practices, Ambitions’ (2009–2013).

2. Some of these focus groups were deliberately designed to cover issues concerning illegal file sharing (see Table 1 below). Nevertheless, the theme also appeared in a number of other focus groups, as it was very frequently debated within Swedish public sphere by the time of the interviews. These latter focus groups have also been a part of this analysis. It also important to make a note concerning research ethics, as we are dealing with illegal activities: all interviewees are made anonymous within all analyses based on this empirical material and the names appearing in the article are fictitious. In all focus group sessions at least one of us – Fredrik Miegel and Tobias Olsson – participated as moderators, in some cases both of us. The focus group typically lasted one to two hours and they were all similarly, thematically planned with the ambition to capture young people's experiences and perceptions of the internet.

3. A BitTorrent tracker assists in the communication between peers using a specific BitTorrent protocol.