Within the post-modern scenario, largely characterized by a sense of diffused social uncertainty and dominated by the ghost of a wide spreading economical and social crisis, social capital, solidarity and social responsibility might represent concrete and efficacious tools to cope with the implications of such cultural drift. The present paper aims at arguing such position by accounting for a repertoire of “good practices” experienced in the south of Italy, which have been read with theoretical and methodological lenses borrowed from social community psychology as well as sociology. The discussion will take into account two case studies (Diffused Guest House and Urban Laboratories) which are both representative in terms of social participation as well as in terms of social capital enhancement. Indeed, all the accounted experiences have shown how the construction of solid and open communities could concretely contribute to enhance social capital as well as to contrast with the diffusion of narrow and conflicting ghetto-communities based on marginality and social uncertainty, which are source for self-segregation, social fragmentation and increasing powerlessness.

A theory-based evaluation of an in-progress program for the development of new youth centers the South of Italy is presented in this article. The study investigated if and to what extent the program was working to increase youth participation. Data were collected through document analysis of the program, in-depth interviews and a survey with the managers of the youth centers. Consistent with some previous study, results suggested that some program mechanisms related to cultural openings, obligations and opportunities of participation had been effective in the activation of youth participation. Some contextual factors behind such mechanisms were also taken into account. Then, the study confirmed the need to further develop forms of youth work able to mediate between the regulatory pressures expressed by public institutions and the claims of autonomy and participation manifested by youth.

The study explored how motivations for taking and sharing selfies vary among youth, with reference to the personality traits based on the combination of shyness and sociability. In contrast with a predominantly pathological vision of the selfie, this study considered a wider range of motivations reported by young people when asked why they click and share selfies. Further to motivations that may be symptomatic of problems (e.g., exhibitionism, attention seeking), the study considered the selfie also as a possible positive experience (e.g., identity development, biographical memory-preserving). Based on a survey administered to a sample of 2,323 undergraduate students, the study evidenced that selfies tend to be a self-referential experience for shy and unsociable individuals (the Solitary Shy profile), as they showed a higher incidence of exhibitionism, attention-seeking and low self-esteem. A multifaceted selfie practice prevails among Shy-Sociable participants (the Uncomfortably Sociable profile), as they seem to exploit different functions of a selfie to cope with their own shyness and, at the same time, to follow their inclination towards face-to-face interactions. Unshy-Sociable participants (the Comfortably Sociable profile) stand out for a tendency to share selfies to nurture social relationships. The need to keep in touch with a limited social circle prevails among Unshy-Unsociable individuals (the Socially Selective profile).