The Influence of Group Communication, Government–Citizen Interaction, and Perceived Importance of New Media on Online Political Discussion

Abstract

Online political discussion is a growing form of political behavior and plays an important role in political deliberation in the new media age. This article examines "daily talk" as a type of political deliberation, and emphasizes two overlooked factors that influence online political discussion: direct government-citizen interactions and perceptions of the importance of new media for online political discussion. It also examines the moderation effects of perceived importance of new media on group communication and government-citizen interaction. Survey data analysis from the 2008 Civic Engagement survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project (n ¼ 2,251) reveals that citizens' interactions with both members of their political group and government officials have positive influences on the frequency of online political discussion. Meanwhile, the association between online political discussion and online group communication becomes stronger when one perceives that new media are less important as source of political information. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.KEY WORDS: online political discussion, government-citizen interaction, group communication, perceived importance of new media, Internet use 1944-2866 #

Do Citizens Trust Electronic Participatory Budgeting? Public Expression in Online Forums as an Evaluation Method in Belo Horizonte

“…Posts were merely divided by project or region of the city. Therefore, we can say these forums were not specifically built for online deliberation, that is, they did not present a design that favored citizen interaction, as is usually recommended in the literature (Deligiaouri, ; Dunne, ; Kies, ; Liu & Zhang, ; Wright & Street, ).…”

“…Posts were merely divided by project or region of the city. Therefore, we can say these forums were not specifically built for online deliberation, that is, they did not present a design that favored citizen interaction, as is usually recommended in the literature (Deligiaouri, 2013;Dunne, 2010;Kies, 2010;Liu & Zhang, 2013;Wright & Street, 2007). It is also worthwhile noting that city hall employees moderated these forums, but moderation focused only on eliminating foul language.…”

Brevity is the Soul of Twitter: The Constraint Affordance and Political Discussion

“…At the same time, these platforms have given citizens the ability to access political information, participate in political movements, and voice their support for or dissent against their government. Social networking sites are now essential tools in the democratic and civic process, as they offer a neutral and open platform for dialogue, act as the bedrock where citizens build ideas about politics through everyday talk (Wojcieszak & Mutz, 2009;Wyatt, Katz, & Kim, 2000), and facilitate direct contact between citizens and their political representatives (e.g., Liu & Zhang, 2013;Tufekci & Wilson, 2012).…”

“…Everyday political discussions on social networking sites are considered to be one of the many pathways to political participation (for a detailed review, see Cook, Carpini, & Jacobs, 2007;Eveland, Morey, & Hutchens, 2011;Hopmann, Matthes, & Nir, 2015). However, the question of whether meaningful political discussions are possible on social networking sites depends on whether or not it is possible to have rational discussions (Habermas, 1984) and to communicate ideas and build consensus in a polite and respectful manner (e.g., Liu & Zhang, 2013;Mutz & Reeves, 2005;Papacharissi, 2004). Some researchers are skeptical of the potential of social networking sites as public spheres for political deliberation (Bail et al, 2018;Mendelberg, 2002;Schkade, Sunstein, & Kahneman, 2000).…”

Structuring Citizen–Government Relationships: Regimes, Regulators, Media, and Citizen Discourse Online

“…The second of these two articles uses the 2008 Civic Engagement survey from the Pew Charitable Trusts Internet and American Life Project to assess how citizen online interaction, both between citizens, and between citizens and their elected officials, affects their level of participation in discussions of politics. Na Liu and Xinzhi Zhang () address the use of “daily talk” and its facility among new media users as a means of increasing political participation through online conversations. Their findings are interesting, since they discover that those who perceive new media as very important in providing them with information on news and events are less likely to engage in political discussion online.…”