Who gets a voice online? Family resources, gender, and cohort differences in youth political participation in Europe

Across Europe, young people report declining electoral participation yet remain active in informal and online political expression. While digital platforms are often portrayed as democratizing political voice, it remains unclear whether they truly mitigate structural inequalities or reconfigure them in new forms. This study examines how gender, family SES, and generational cohort shape youth participation across electoral, informal, and online arenas, asking whether digital platforms operate through different mechanisms than resource-intensive offline channels. Using data from the 2021 Flash Eurobarometer ( n = 17,953; ages 15—30; 27 EU member states), this study examines three hypotheses: (1) gender gaps vary by participation form, with women more active in informal and online engagement; (2) SES effects attenuate online as communicative competencies replace material resources; (3) family political discussion effects persist similarly across Millennials and Gen Z, suggesting continuity rather than rupture in socialization. The findings show that young women report higher levels of participation than young men across all forms, challenging conventional assumptions about gender gaps in political engagement. Socioeconomic resources remain strong predictors of electoral and informal participation but play a weaker and more uneven role online. Generational differences are modest, suggesting continuity rather than rupture in political socialization processes. Overall, digital platforms expand expression opportunities for expression but reconfigures rather than dismantles enduring inequalities in youth political participation.