ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses why everyday political expression on social media can be considered a citizenship practice, whether it is image-based or not. Combining attention to societal issues with the activity of speaking out, it constitutes a form of civic engagement. However, everyday political expression on social media is to be distinguished from political participation, as it does not seek to directly target political, economic or social actors with the aim of influencing actual outcomes. While the societal value of everyday political expression as such should not be overestimated, it should not be neglected either. Its value lies in the potential role it can play as a gateway to political participation, but also in peer-to-peer influence and in complementarity agency, by which citizens share their views and, in doing so, help each other improve their collective knowledge and understanding. Furthermore, this chapter also discusses that citizenship is not a static concept; it is reified by each society and is contingent on time and place. Therefore, considering everyday political expression on social media as a citizenship practice requires one to move away from essentialised and idealised approaches to citizenship that are disconnected from reality.
