A comparative international study was conducted with a few thousand college students in four countries to analyze their appropriation of the Internet in three spheres of life, personal, professional/academic and public. This presentation focuses on the public sphere and draws a parallel between two of the participating countries, Quebec (Canada) and Brittany (France). The portion of the survey dealing with the public sphere explores to what extent students avail themselves of Internet resources as compared to traditional media to keep abreast of current events, to participate in cultural and political activities and to communicate with others about cultural and political issues. The survey also explored students’ opinions about the role of Internet in the cultural and political dimensions of their lives as well as in society in general. Even though young adults in both societies share French as their native language, several differences emerged in their Internet practices with regard to the public sphere. This attests to the fact that the appropriation of Internet is embedded within the pervasive cultural context which characterizes people’s daily interactions with their fellow citizens. In the light of our data and of an extensive review of the literature, we offer suggestions to foster political participation among young adults while building upon the possibilities of ICT’s, and in particular those of the Internet.
