Catalyzing Youth Civic Engagement Through Innovations in Social Computing

Social computing platforms (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) offer ways for youth activist groups to engage in civic action. However, it is challenging for youth activists to collaboratively leverage their networks and strategically engage in collective action online. Therefore, tools are needed to help these groups to better understand and leverage the resources available to them online for creating public engagement around issues of their interest. In my thesis, I want to explore how interactive social network visualizations can help youth activist groups to identify as a group online and to enhance their collective efficacy at engaging in collective action online.