Speak Your Mind or Pick a Side? Youth Voices and Political Identity - Episode 2 скачать в хорошем качестве

Speak Your Mind or Pick a Side? Youth Voices and Political Identity - Episode 2

Social media has become Ghana’s new political stage — a place where hashtags evolve into movements and influencers shape national debates in real time. Many of these online voices claim neutrality, presenting themselves as issue-focused rather than partisan. However, remaining neutral in Ghana’s charged political space is far more complicated. The so-called neutrality often fades when politics intensifies, revealing the true loyalties beneath the surface. This episode explores when and why young social media voices in Ghana choose to express their political views, and what this shift means for credibility, civic discourse, and democracy. Are influencers the new political players? Does their online engagement constitute genuine participation — or is it simply performative activism? Afrobarometer Round 10 (2024) data reveals that young Ghanaians are among the most digitally active citizens, yet they are less likely than older generations to participate through traditional civic channels such as attending community meetings, contacting local leaders, or joining civic groups. This suggests that social media may be filling a civic void, becoming the main arena where the youth express political opinions and advocate for accountability. In Speak Your Mind or Pick a Side? Youth Voices and Political Identity aka Wear Your Jersey, we explore this paradox: if democracy is a team sport, can young people truly stay “neutral”? And what happens when the referee — the public — is watching online?