Switzerland on the Internet: An overview of diffusion, usage, concerns and democratic implications

Abstract

This article gives multifaceted insights into the current status of Internet use in Switzerland and the related democratic implications. It shows the state of Internet diffusion, digital gaps and the usage patterns of Internet applications. It analyzes people's trust in Internet content and the concerns related to using the Internet. Finally, it explores the extent of political participation online and citizens' views on digital democratization. The results derive from the World Internet Project -Switzerland (WIP-CH), a representative national academic survey embedded in the wider framework of the World Internet Project (WIP). Key WordsInternet, Switzerland, survey, Internet usage Natascha Just, Michael Latzer, Sulkhan Metreveli and Florian Saurwein: Switzerland on the Internet: An overview of diffusion, usage, concerns and democratic implications; In Studies in Communication Sciences, 2013 forthcoming Switzerland on the Internet: An overview of diffusion, usage, concerns and democratic implicationsThe diffusion of technological innovations such as the Internet is generally accompanied by visions and expectations of social progress and democratization. Conceptions such as electronic democracy, digital democracy and network democracy refer to this potential of the Internet and attendant applications for democracy, e.g., by promising to increase the transparency of the political process, enhance the direct involvement and citizens' participation or improve the quality of opinion formation by opening new channels for information and deliberation (Trechsel, Kies, Mendez, & Schmitter, 2003;Saurwein, Just, Latzer, & Metreveli, 2013). In this context it is often argued that democracy could be promoted and strengthened by a broad diffusion of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and by a proficient and skilled handling of its applications. This alone would provide new opportunities for political engagement and public debate, in essence it would create an easily accessible virtual common public sphere (Giannakoulopoulos, Oikonomou, Oikonomidou, & Meimaris, 2012;Neumayer & Raffl, 2008). Because of its long-standing concern with questions of the public sphere and with how the media fulfill important functions for society (e.g., political or democratic functions) communication science has increasingly moved its research interest to the Internet in order to uncover its feasibility for political participation and for assessing related democratic implications (Weare, 2002;Hacker & van Dijk, 2000). Many empirical examples underline the enabling potential of the Internet to enhance the quality of democracy, e.g., the role of social media for citizen empowerment in the "Arab Spring" (Tufekci & Wilson, 2012;Khondker, 2011). Dutton (2007 argues that the Internet crucially enables individuals to network in new ways that reconfigure and enhance their communicative power -as a type of "Fifth Estate". Chadwick (2008) highlights the low threshold for co-production behavior characteristic of Web 2.0, which provid...

Testing a Digital Inequality Model for Online Political Participation

“…The minimum consensus in previous research is that mere access to the Internet does not automatically prompt users to engage in beneficial and advanced uses such as online political participation. The percentage of users who use the Internet for political purposes is generally very low, particularly for active forms of participation (see De Marco et al 2014 for Spain; Di Gennaro and Dutton 2006 for the UK; Just et al 2013 for Switzerland; Krueger 2002 for the US; Kruikemeier et al 2014 for the Netherlands; Vonbun and Schönbach 2014 for Austria). In this study, we conceptualize online political participation in a relatively broad sense, encompassing active and passive engagement (see Conway 2000; Di Gennaro and Dutton 2006).…”

Interactive cities? Local political online communication in Switzerland

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“…Overall, the Swiss population is rather reluctant when it comes to political participation online. In a representative survey, 46 percent perceived the internet as an unsafe place for political expression and preferred to talk about politics offline, and only a small minority believed that the quality of democracy would benefit from online communication (Just et al, 2013).…”