Elsevier

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume 28, Issue 5, September 2012, Pages 1535-1546
Computers in Human Behavior

Facebook and political engagement: A study of online political group membership and offline political engagement

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.03.012Get rights and content

Abstract

In what ways do online groups help to foster political engagement among citizens? We employ a multi-method design incorporating content analysis of online political group pages and original survey research of university undergraduates (n = 455) to assess the relationship between online political group membership and political engagement—measured through political knowledge and political participation surrounding the 2008 election. We find that participation in online political groups is strongly correlated with offline political participation, as a potential function of engaging members online. However, we fail to confirm that there is a corresponding positive relationship between participation in online political groups and political knowledge, likely due to low quality online group discussion.

Highlights

► We examine the effect of online political groups on political participation and knowledge. ► We use Facebook’s group platform as our unit of study. ► The study uses a survey and content analysis to prove the hypothesis. ► Membership in Facebook groups increases political participation. ► Membership in Facebook groups has no effect on political knowledge.

Introduction

New media is a growing force in the study of civic engagement. There are many levels of analysis within the discussion of new media effects ranging from the global economy to personal use of the Internet. Our research exists on the level of the democratic divide (Norris, 2001), where researchers study individual-level usage of the Internet and analyze its effect in terms of civic engagement. We join an active discussion of whether political Internet use will be helpful, harmful, or irrelevant in its effects on civic society and political engagement.

There is some controversy concerning the effects of the Internet on political engagement. While the impact of general Internet use on political efficacy and trust is still contested,1 many are optimistic about the ability of political Internet use to increase offline and conventional forms of political participation (Cho et al., 2009, Mossberger et al., 2008, Rojas and Puig-i-Abril, 2009, Shah et al., 2005, Xenos and Moy, 2007), knowledge (Xenos & Moy, 2007) and civic engagement through social capital (Jennings and Zeitner, 2003, Norris, 2001, Shah, Kwak et al., 2001, Valenzuela et al., 2009).

Understanding the influence of political Internet use, and especially new venues and capacities for social interaction, on offline conventional forms of political participation and political knowledge is especially pertinent to understanding younger citizens, who are more active online than previous generations. In 2007, Pew reported that 93% of teens use the Internet. Additionally, as Internet use goes up, participation on social networking sites (SNS) increases as well: “more [teens] than ever are treating [the Internet] as a venue for social interaction—a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others” (Lenhart, Madden, Macgill, & Smith, 2007). To better understand whether heightened Internet use has a positive or negative impact on political engagement of youth, it is important for our analysis to incorporate measures of different types of social interactions online. As time goes on, we are developing more robust measures for online activities and effects through increased research efforts related to the effects of new media. This paper is an early attempt to accurately capture measurements of these online social interactions.

The proliferation of online venues for all purposes, from social interaction to consumerism, suggests that Internet use alone is too blunt a measure. Recently, researchers have begun to examine specific forms of “political use” of the Internet and SNS, an approach we find to be more indicative of the mechanisms through which new media impacts political engagement. This project contributes to this line of more specified research by further exploring how online political group membership affects offline conventional forms of political participation and political knowledge among youth. Political groups are defined as any social connection shared by individuals, which can enable political discussion and interaction. Political groups have long existed offline through formal group organizations and even informal interaction amongst friends. However, new media is providing opportunities for citizens in political groups to engage politically in ways that we have not yet seen.

Focusing on the social networking website Facebook, we use a multi-method design to learn more about the content of online political groups and potential influence they have on political engagement. Political engagement is defined here as offline conventional forms of political participation and political knowledge. We begin with analysis of original survey data (n = 455) to measure membership in online political groups and levels of offline conventional forms of political activity and political knowledge. We find that increased online political group membership is correlated with increased levels of offline conventional forms of political participation but not necessarily increased levels of political knowledge. To elaborate on these findings, we conduct a content analysis of political group pages and group wall commentary (walls are a shared social space where group members post messages), where we find information quality to be quite low and relatively opinionated rather than information rich. Through survey design, we confidently establish correlation between online political groups and political engagement, while the content analysis corroborates this relationship. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and suggest direction for future research in this area.

Section snippets

Online political activity effects

Certain uses of the Internet and new media yield civically redeeming effects in users. Mossberger et al. (2008) find that chat rooms, political email correspondence, and online news exposure predict higher voting rates. Shah, Kwak et al. (2001) demonstrate that information exchange over the Internet fosters civic engagement, trust, and life contentment in younger generations, while social recreation on the Internet is negatively correlated with trust and life contentment. Both of these studies

Research methodology

This is a study of a specific application of SNS, namely online political group participation on Facebook. Of the work to date that has focused on SNS (Ellison et al., 2007, Lewis et al., 2008, Zywica and Danowski, 2008) we were only able to find one study that has looked at group participation through SNS and finds a positive correlation between online political group participation and offline political participation (Valenzuela et al., 2009). Our study advances the field by looking at the

Survey design

For the first portion of the study, we administer a survey to college undergraduates at a public university in California (n = 455). This study is based on a convenience sample, which invariably raises questions about the external validity of the findings (Sears, 1986). The survey allows us to gather cross-sectional data about Facebook usage among a limited yet relevant population including new measures for distinctly political versus non-political usage. The survey takes roughly 15 min to

Discussion

This research and its findings are significant on three important levels. First, we illustrate the need to start looking deeper into SNS usage, and political Internet usage more generally. Social network sites are not a use in and of themselves, as much as they are a platform for various applications that have important implications for studying how people interact today. This study highlights one SNS application from one specific SNS at one point in time. We investigate a specific service

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Bruce Bimber for his thoughtful feedback throughout our research, as well as M. Kent Jennings and Eric R.A.N. Smith for their comments on previous versions of this manuscript.

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