L' « esquive » du politique des jeunes français et sa relation avec le conformisme dans la sphère privée (étude empirique)

This thesis consists of two parts : Part I was inspired by the work produced by Norbert Elias. It shows how the habitus of French young people is marked by the conflict between short-term and long-term logics (dependency to social status and the pressure for success) leading to a “dodging” of politics, an ‘exit without voice’ in reference to Hirschman. The behaviors associated with this “dodging” of politics consist in over-using the Internet (in comparison with same populations in similar countries), heavy partying and seldom taking part in political life through short-running commitments. Part II is about conformism in the private sphere and how this relates to the “dodging” of politics. My hypothesis was that being consistent with one’s closest network is satisfying and the ability to oppose its influence is favored by a higher degree of general satisfaction, or satisfaction in some activities. Glaser and Strauss’s grounded theory method was used : to its authors, comparing populations showing sufficient dissimilarities allows to produce theoretical conclusions. The object chosen was the cell phone, three different populations got interviewed from March 2010 till April 2011. Three processes can explain the ability for an individual to oppose within the realm of privacy. When they were combined, only three exceptions can be noticed and could be explained : these processes are in fact causes or manifestations of the “dodging” of politics. Considering the small number of exceptions and the macro level data, questions arise about the ability of French young people to oppose, not only in the public sphere, but also in the private sphere.