The Internet and the Public: Online and Offline Political Participation in the United Kingdom

Gennaro, Corinna di; Dutton, William H.

doi:10.1093/pa/gsl004

Cited by 204 publications

(134 citation statements)

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“…The use of Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, Instagram and other forms of digital communication mean that it has become increasingly common for citizens to publicise political information and messages on behalf of and about candidates and parties -and of course to discuss them. In this way, they can participate in campaigns in a meaningful way even if the full extent of the effects of online participation remains unclear at present (Di Gennaro & Dutton 2006;Visser and Stolle 2014;Freezel 2016). On the one hand, this development leads us to wonder whether the GIM is still a valid tool for capturing the incentives that lead members to participate in modern forms of online campaign as well as in more traditional ones.…”

Section: Theoretical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participating Locally and Nationally: Explaining the Offline and Online Activism of British Party Members

2018

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Section: Theoretical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participating Locally and Nationally: Explaining the Offline and Online Activism of British Party Members

2018

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“…Yet research consistently shows online mobilisation has a lower if not a minimal effect in encouraging offline forms of participation (Quintelier & Vissers, 2008). In the UK, studies largely reinforce this finding (Ward et al, 2003;Di Gennaro & Dutton, 2006) although more recent research has found more complex suites of participation exist where the online and offline spheres are bridged (Gibson & Cantijoch, 2013). Again, however, there is no indication of the motivations underpinning suites of activities.…”

Section: Motivations Mobilisation and Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Drives Political Participation? Motivations and Mobilization in a Digital Age

Lilleker¹,

Koc-Michalska

2016

Political Communication

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The article provides insights into the driving forces that underpin new forms of political participation. Digital technologies offer opportunities for engaging in a wide range of civicallyoriented activities, whether liking or sharing political content, joining online political communities or joining discussions, each can contribute to deeper democratic engagement and, for the individual, act as a pathway towards further civic participation. Conventional acts of political participation, demonstrating, petitioning and voting, are argued to be driven primarily by intrinsic motivations relating to self-efficacy and empowerment as the individual feels they can have influence over decision makers. Little research explores whether similar motivations drive participation in less conventional acts, as well as whether mobilisation attempts via social media by peers or political organisations mediate those motivations.Drawing on data from a survey among a representative sample of the UK electorate, we find the offline and online spheres of agency as still fairly distinct. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations both matter but extrinsic motivations, following norms of behaviour within networks and supporting the activities of peers, have the strongest explanatory power independent of the sphere of activity. The mediating effect of mobilisation tactics has a minimal effect on extrinsic motivations, online or offline, but online intrinsic motivations lose their explanatory power. This finding suggests online political acts are carried out due to mobilisation, although as intrinsic factors offer little explanatory power these acts may lack meaning to the individual. We also found that campaign organisations are the most powerful mobilisers perhaps suggesting social media users are most likely to perform simple acts in support of non-contentious causes.

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“…In particular, we need to know more about the role of digital media in the relationship between citizens and political institutions from the perspective of those who are attempting to stimulate citizens to become engaged. Most studies of the contribution of digital media to public engagement focus on their effects upon public behaviour (Gennaro & Dutton, 2006), the use of social networking sites by politicians as individuals (Coleman & Moss, 2008) or by political parties as collective bodies. Fewer studies have explored how local government strategies to engage with citizens have been supported, complicated or even hindered by the use of digital media.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moving on from the Council's current use of digital media, we look at how actors perceive the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies. Previous studies have claimed on the one hand that digital media have the potential to reach those who are isolated from society and estranged from politics because of social inequality, and on the other that they exacerbate existing social inequalities (Gennaro & Dutton, 2006), widen existing knowledge gaps and simply make it easier for those who are already interested in politics to get more involved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public engagement in local government: the voice and influence of citizens in online communicative spaces

Firmstone

Coleman

2014

Information, Communication & Society

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Public engagement in local government: the voice and influence of citizens in online communicative spaces. AbstractThe communications and engagement strategies of local councils play an important role in contributing to the public's understanding of local democracies, and their engagement with local issues. Based on a study of the local authority in the third largest city in the UK, Leeds, this article presents an empirically based analysis of the impact of new opportunities for public engagement afforded by digital media on the Council's communication with citizens. Drawing on over twenty face to face semi-structured interviews with elected politicians, Council strategists, Council communications specialists, mainstream journalists, and citizen journalists, the article explores perceptions of the Council's engagement and communication with citizens from the perspective of a range of actors involved in the engagement process.The research asks what the differing motivations behind the Council's communications and engagement strategies mean for the way that digital media are and might be used in the future to enhance the role of citizens in local governance. The research suggests that whilst there are no grounds for expecting digital media to displace existing channels of public engagement, digital media are beginning to play an important role in defining and reconfiguring the role of citizens within local governance.Word count: 7854

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The Internet and the Public: Online and Offline Political Participation in the United Kingdom

Cited by 204 publications

References 0 publications

Participating Locally and Nationally: Explaining the Offline and Online Activism of British Party Members

Participating Locally and Nationally: Explaining the Offline and Online Activism of British Party Members

What Drives Political Participation? Motivations and Mobilization in a Digital Age

Public engagement in local government: the voice and influence of citizens in online communicative spaces

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