Empty Streets, Active Feeds: Moroccan Youth Activism in the Age of Social Media

Authors

Samantha Jaloza, SIT Study AbroadFollow

Home Institution

Emory University

Publication Date

Spring 2020

Program Name

Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Abstract

Since the February 20 movement in 2011, Morocco has not witnessed large waves of political activism from its young population. However, Moroccan youth are not inactive citizens, and it would be a mischaracterization to call young Moroccans apolitical or disinterested. Rather, Moroccan youth are finding new ways to interact with political and social issues. With the increase in access to the Internet over the last fifteen years, social media has become an important forum for Moroccan youth, who have often felt marginalized from more traditional forms of political participation like unions and political parties. This research explores the ways that Moroccan youth use political activism on social media to confirm and challenge their identities, looking specifically at the cultural and political contexts that define the way young Moroccans create and view content. Using the World Values Survey, Power 2 Youth research, and qualitative interviews, this research finds that while Moroccans under the age of 29 are limited in their political activity in traditional methods, they use social media as a forum to express their activist leanings and feelings toward current events, while still maintaining a careful awareness of their commentary on and relationship toward the state.

Disciplines

African Studies | Civic and Community Engagement | Communication Technology and New Media | Politics and Social Change | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social Influence and Political Communication | Social Justice

Recommended Citation

Jaloza, Samantha, "Empty Streets, Active Feeds: Moroccan Youth Activism in the Age of Social Media" (2020). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 3364.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3364