Sara Vissers

The Effect of Internet Use on Political Participation

Conflicting claims have been put forward regarding the effects of Internet use on real-life political participation. Some argue that Internet use, and the accompanying political resources, stimulates political participation; others fear that intensive Internet use is associated with a withdrawal from public life. This articles authors test both claims on a representative sample of 6,330 16-year-olds in Belgium. They investigate young peoples behavior, assuming that young people are the most avid information and communication technologies users and the most susceptible to the influence of various socialization experiences. The authors introduce a distinction between time spent on the Internet (time-replacement hypothesis) and various activities performed online. Results show time on the Internet does not have an effect on the propensity to participate in public life. Although some online activities are clearly and significantly associated with offline political participation, it remains to be investigated whether this relation is a form of causality.

The Internet and new modes of political participation: online versus offline participation

Political participation refers to all forms of involvement in which citizens express their political opinion and/or convey that opinion to political decision-makers. Some of the most innovative forms of political participation developed during the past decade are based on the use of online communication tools. There is still no consensus in the scientific literature, however, about the impact of online communication on citizens’ civic and political engagement. The main goal of this article is therefore to understand whether specific online and/or offline political participation patterns exist especially among young people who are known to be the most fervent Internet users. The analysis utilizes survey data on various forms of offline and online political engagement among undergraduate students from 2011.

Spill-Over Effects Between Facebook and On/Offline Political Participation? Evidence from a Two-Wave Panel Study

ABSTRACT This article examines the medium-specific and spill-over effects from various aspects of using social networking sites (SNS) to other forms of online and offline political participation. The study relies on a two-wave panel survey of undergraduate students at a major Canadian university, which was designed to measure detailed aspects of political participation on social networking sites (SNS) and various other forms of political engagement. Our results show that prior political Facebook participation fosters other forms of online participation, but also reveals some spill-over effects to offline protests. Indeed, we find a reciprocal relationship between the posting of Facebook messages and offline protest, confirming that Facebook political activity is both mobilizing and reinforcing.

The Impact of Mobilization Media on Off-Line and Online Participation: Are Mobilization Effects Medium-Specific?

In recent years, voluntary associations and political organizations have increasingly switched to Internet-based mobilization campaigns, replacing traditional forms of face-to-face recruitment and mobilization. The existing body of empirical research on Internet-based mobilization, however, is not conclusive about the effects this form of mobilization might have. In this article, the authors argue that this lack of strong conclusions might be due to the failure to distinguish different behavioral outcomes of mobilization, and more specifically, a distinction between online and off-line forms of participation is missing. In this experimental study, participants were exposed to potentially mobilizing information either by way of face-to-face interaction or by website. The results of the experiment indicate that web-based mobilization only has a significant effect on online participation, whereas face-to-face mobilization has a significant impact on off-line behavior, which would imply that mobilization effects are medium-specific. The authors close with some observations on what these findings might imply for the democratic consequences of the current trend toward an increasing reliance on Internet-based forms of political mobilization.

The Potential of Internet Mobilization: An Experimental Study on the Effect of Internet and Face-to-Face Mobilization Efforts

In recent years, voluntary associations and political organizations have increasingly relied on Internet-based mobilization campaigns, replacing traditional forms of face-to-face recruitment and mobilization. Within the literature, one can observe an intensive debate about the possible consequences of this transition. Most importantly, the question is whether political mobilization through the Internet is just as effective as mobilization in a face-to-face setting. In this article, we report on a mobilization experiment using both traditional (face-to-face) and modern (Web site) incentives for mobilization. The experiment was conducted among undergraduate students in Belgium and Canada and included a test of medium-term mobilization effects. Results suggest that the Internet is successful in transferring knowledge and raising issue salience among respondents, but neither experimental manipulation led to significant behavioral changes. We do not find any indication that among this experimental sample Internet-based mobilization would be less effective than traditional face-to-face forms of mobilization.

Why Can’t a Student Be More Like an Average Person?: Sampling and Attrition Effects in Social Science Field and Laboratory Experiments

In the social sciences, the use of experimental research has expanded greatly in recent years. For various reasons, most experiments rely on convenience samples of undergraduate university students. This practice, however, might endanger the validity of experimental findings, as we can assume that students will react differently to experimental conditions than the general population. We therefore urge experimental researchers to broaden their pool of participants, despite the obvious practical difficulties this might entail with regard to recruitment and motivation of the participants. We report on an experiment comparing the reactions of student and non-student participants, showing clear and significant differences. A related problem is that differential attrition rates might endanger the effects found in long-term research. We argue that experimental researchers should pay more attention to the characteristics of participants in their experimental design.

Reaching out or reaching in? The use of party websites during the 2006 electoral campaign in Belgium

While various authors have suggested that introduction of the Internet will lead to substantial changes in political communication patterns, others have argued that traditional inequalities and patterns will only be reinforced. Websites of political parties play a specific role in this debate. On the one hand, they can be used by voters seeking information on various political parties. On the other hand, they might reach only those that are already ‘converted’ and have sufficient means to gather political information by other media. During the campaign for the 2006 local elections in Belgium, we conducted an online survey among visitors to party websites (n = 3,224). The analysis shows that a substantial majority of online visitors is male and highly educated. About 60 per cent of all respondents had already decided to vote for the party whose website they had just visited, but another 40 per cent clearly compared parties’ positions and candidates. Our tentative conclusion therefore is that during electoral campaigns party websites will be used mainly by those who are already convinced about the programme and the candidates of that specific party.