Political Use of the Internet, Political Attitudes and Political Participation

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the interrelationships among political attitudes, Internet use, and political participation, and to develop a path model in which interrelationships among various concepts can be clarified and modified to provide a more integrated theoretical formulation. The study tested two path models. The first model assumed that demographics lead to political attitudes, then to the political use of the Internet, and eventually to political participation. The second model assumed that political use of the Internet precedes political attitudes, and then attitudes lead to political participation. The results show that the data correspond better to the second model than to the first; political use of the Internet promotes political interest and feelings of trust and efficacy, and makes an individual more likely to participate in campaigns and politics. The paper also discusses directions for future research.

Keywords:

• Political Use of the Internet
• Political Attitudes
• Political Participation

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Professor Ying-Hwa Cheng and Professor Ven-hwei Lo for their help in providing data from Taiwan's Social Change Survey conducted by the National Science Council.

Notes

1. Source: www.internetworldstats.com. Usage statistics were updated on June 14, 2007. The most recent usage comes mainly from data published by Nielsen//NetRatings, ITU, and other local sources.

2. The Pan–Green alliance and Pan–Blue alliance are informal political alliances in Taiwan. The Pan–Green alliance favors Taiwan independence over Chinese reunification, while the Pan–Blue alliance tends to favor a Chinese nationalist identity over a Taiwanese separatist one.