Abstract:

Today, as a tool for political expression or activities, digital social platforms are an important part of the everyday life for young generations. However, sometimes, especially in times of crisis, national states can perceive these digital platforms as a threat. Therefore, over the past twenty years, governments have become increasingly willing to restrict access to content on the internet or block access to digital social platforms at different degrees. This study examined the ideas or attitudes of youth about government policies, such as the continuous or temporary restriction or blocking of access to digital social platforms in the context of democracy and freedom. In the context of the quality method, the deep-conversation technique has been used as a tool for data collection. The examples of the study are made up of young people studying at Aydın Adnan Menderes University in Turkey. According to the findings, there are two main alternative approaches or attitudes towards the potential of digital social platforms to spread democracy and freedom: the opinions of cyber-utopics and cyber-doubters. Despite different attitudes towards government policies, such as restriction or blocking access to digital social platforms, it is believed that the resources or tools offered by the digital world can actually contribute positively to democracy and freedom, as long as people and governments, policy makers and other stakeholders in their internet environments are responsible.