Voting in the echo chamber?: Patterns of political online activities and voting behavior in Switzerland

Understanding the political consequences of digitalization is among the key challenges for modern societies. A pressing issue is the question whether political online activities make individuals more close-minded and less willing to consider alternative arguments. We examine this question using a pe...

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Hauptverfasser: Ackermann, Kathrin (VerfasserIn) , Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 28 January 2022
In: Swiss political science review
Year: 2022, Pages: 1-24
ISSN:1662-6370
DOI:10.1111/spsr.12498
Online-Zugang:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12498
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spsr.12498
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Verfasserangaben:Kathrin Ackermann, Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Understanding the political consequences of digitalization is among the key challenges for modern societies. A pressing issue is the question whether political online activities make individuals more close-minded and less willing to consider alternative arguments. We examine this question using a peculiarity of the Swiss electoral system - the possibility to split votes - as a behavioral outcome measure. We argue that political online activities might either make individuals less likely to split votes (“echo chamber”-argument) or more likely to spread their votes across parties (“deliberation”-argument). Empirically, we use data from the Swiss Election Study Selects 2019 to test these arguments. The results of a hierarchical logistic regression analysis do not support any of the conflicting arguments. Yet, additional analyses suggest that political interest moderates the relationship between online activities and vote splitting: political interest makes online activists more likely to split votes.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 02.02.2022
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1662-6370
DOI:10.1111/spsr.12498