Digital Media and Political Participation: The Moderating Role of Political Interest Across Acts and Over Time

Political interest is a potentially important moderator of the relationship between digital media use and traditional forms of political participation. We theorize that the interaction between interest and digital media can be either positive or negative, depending on whether the action is voting, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science computer review 2015-02, Vol.33 (1), p.21-42
Main Authors: Bimber, Bruce, Cunill, Marta Cantijoch, Copeland, Lauren, Gibson, Rachel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
British
Digital Media
Elections
Interaction
Internet
Mass Media
Mass Media Effects
Mathematical models
Media
Moderators
Political behavior
Political Participation
Political Parties
State Role
Strengthening
United Kingdom
Voting
Voting Behavior
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Summary:Political interest is a potentially important moderator of the relationship between digital media use and traditional forms of political participation. We theorize that the interaction between interest and digital media can be either positive or negative, depending on whether the action is voting, an elite-directed act, or a self-directed act. To test our expectation, we use British Election Studies data from 2001, 2005, and 2010. We find that digital media use is positively and consistently associated with political talk for those lower in political interest. For voting, we find a similar relationship that appears to be strengthening over time. For the elite-directed acts of donating money and working for a party, we find a highly variable moderating effect of political interest that can be positive, negative, or nonexistent.
ISSN:0894-4393
1552-8286
DOI:10.1177/0894439314526559