This study aims to examine the different dimensions of online citizen participation for the purpose of delving into the types of engagement that are being developed in order for citizens to benefit from the opportunities offered by the Internet. A self-administered survey has been carried out with 420 students from a Spanish public University (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos) from its five campuses in Madrid. A typology of attitudes has been developed, firstly with factor analysis, and then with a varimax rotation. Moreover, a hierarchical linear regression has been applied in order to discover the variables that might predict the typology of participation. The study shows that online participation is a complex phenomenon influenced by multiple personal and social factors. The results have revealed three points of view: 1. Scepticism toward the ability to exert influence; 2. Social networks as a channel for maintaining social contact and expressing opinions; and 3. Capability of empowering users. Certain attitudes toward social networks can predict online participatory behaviour in different types of profiles on these networks. Furthermore, age does not affect online participation, and gender only has an influence on sports and media profiles.

中文翻译：

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年轻人参与在线社交社区：西班牙案例研究中大学生态度的探索

本研究旨在研究在线公民参与的不同维度，以深入研究正在开发的参与类型，以使公民从互联网提供的机会中受益。对来自马德里五个校区的西班牙公立大学 (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos) 的 420 名学生进行了一项自我管理的调查。一种态度类型学已经发展起来，首先是因子分析，然后是方差最大旋转。此外，为了发现可能预测参与类型的变量，已经应用了分层线性回归。研究表明，在线参与是一种受多种个人和社会因素影响的复杂现象。结果揭示了三个观点：1。对施加影响的能力持怀疑态度；2. 社交网络作为保持社交联系和表达意见的渠道；3. 赋能用户的能力。对社交网络的某些态度可以预测这些网络上不同类型的个人资料中的在线参与行为。此外，年龄不会影响在线参与，而性别只会影响体育和媒体形象。