Why Social Media Matter

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-50
Author(s):  
Cristian Vaccari ◽  
Augusto Valeriani
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Systemic Factors ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
Participation Research ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

To understand how social media can contribute to political participation, research must first investigate the extent to which individuals experience political content on these platforms. Second, we need to understand whether and how these experiences and their effects differ among different types of users—such as those with different levels of political involvement and different ideological preferences. Finally, we need to know how these relationships are shaped by systemic factors that vary across countries—such as patterns of electoral competition, characteristics of media systems, and the strength of party organizations. The theoretical framework presented in this chapter overcomes three theoretical and empirical fallacies that have limited researchers’ ability to understand the relationship between social media and political participation. These fallacies inaccurately suggest that platforms’ affordances are a destiny that inevitably shapes outcomes, that the effects of social media are uniform among different groups of users rather than varying based on their specific characteristics, and that contextual features and systemic factors do not play any relevant role.

Does Context Matter?

2021 ◽  
pp. 183-216
Author(s):  
Cristian Vaccari ◽  
Augusto Valeriani
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Electoral Mobilization ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
The Relationship

Systemic features can play a relevant role in shaping the relationship between political experiences on social media and political participation. The positive relationship between exposure to supportive political content on social media and participation is stronger in countries with majoritarian patterns of political competition than in countries with proportional dynamics. The positive relationship between being targeted by electoral mobilization on social media and participation is stronger in party-centric political systems than in candidate-centric ones. By contrast, the relationship between accidental exposure to news on social media and participation does not vary across different types of media systems. The fact that some features of political systems moderate the relationship between political experiences on social media and participation highlights that comparative research can help us understand how contextual characteristics that vary across countries shape the political implications of social media.

“Mind the gap”: to succeed in marketing politics, think of social media innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 806-817
Author(s):  
Patrick Amfo Anim ◽  
Frederick Okyere Asiedu ◽  
Matilda Adams ◽  
George Acheampong ◽  
Ernestina Boakye
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Political Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Young Voters ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationships between political marketing via social media and young voters’ political participation in Ghana. Additionally, this study examines the mediating role political efficacy plays in enhancing the relationship. Design/methodology/approach With a positivist mindset, and adopting the survey strategy, data gathered from the questionnaire administered from the sampled 320 young voters (18-29 years) in Greater Accra were quantitatively analyzed. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to assess and confirm the proposed scales validity and the relationships of the research model. Findings The study revealed that a political party or candidate’s ability to achieve political participation from Ghanaian young voters’ is dependent on how effective they build customer relationship or gaining visibility through social media. In addition, the study showed that political efficacy mediates the relationship between customer relationship building or gaining visibility through social media and political participation among Ghana young voters. Thus, young voters in Ghana must see themselves to have a say in the affairs of political parties through the political messages they gather from social media platforms to enhance their political participation activities. Practical implications The results of this paper will enable political marketers and politicians not only in Ghana but across the globe, to better understand how social media as a communication tool could be used to positively influence users’ political participation. Originality/value Considering the uniqueness of this study in a Ghanaian context, this paper is the first of its kind to use the social capital theory in examining the mediating role political efficacy plays in enhancing the relationship between political marketing on social media and young voters’ political participation.

scholarly journals e-Campaigning in the 2014 European elections

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ceron ◽  
Luigi Curini
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Inverse Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Electoral Campaign ◽  
The Relationship

The article explores the relationship between the incentives of parties to campaign on valence issues and the ideological proximity between one party and its competitors. Building from the existing literature, we provide a novel theoretical model that investigates this relationship in a two-dimensional multiparty system. Our theoretical argument is then tested focusing on the 2014 European electoral campaign in the five largest European countries, through an analysis of the messages posted by parties in their official Twitter accounts. Our results highlight an inverse relationship between a party’s distance from its neighbors and its likelihood to emphasize valence issues. However, as suggested in our theoretical framework, this effect is statistically significant only with respect to valence positive campaigning. Our findings have implications for the literature on valence competition, electoral campaigns, and social media.

Comparing hybrid media systems in the digital age: A theoretical framework for analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 540-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Mattoni ◽  
Diego Ceccobelli
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Media And Politics ◽  
National Differences ◽  
National Media ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between media and politics today is deeply entrenched in the wide use of information and communication technologies to the point that scholars speak about the emergence of hybrid media systems in which older and newer media logics combine. However, it is still unclear how the configuration of hybrid media systems changes across countries today, especially with regard to the interconnection between media and politics. In the article, we aim to develop a theoretical framework to capture such national differences. In so doing, we want to develop a heuristic device to understand whether the transformations brought about by information and communication technologies in the media and political realm also contribute to reshaping national media systems and to what extent. After outlining the main scope of the article in the ‘Introduction’ section, we discuss the theoretical framework that Hallin and Mancini developed to compare media systems across countries, and we present this framework’s main strengths and weaknesses when used as a tool for understanding the relationship between media and politics in the digital era. We then argue for the need for an updated and expanded version of such a theoretical framework: first, we update its four original dimensions (structure of media market, political parallelism, state intervention and journalistic professionalism) transversely including information and communication technologies–related indicators; second, we expand the original theoretical framework with one new dimension (grassroots participation) and the related indicators. In the ‘Conclusion’ section, we summarize our theoretical proposal and present some indicators and potential comparative data sources to assess similarities and differences of national media systems across countries. Finally, we also note two limitations of the article.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 217-236
Author(s):  
Cristian Vaccari ◽  
Augusto Valeriani
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Democratic Life ◽  
Political Apathy ◽  
The Relationship

Social media can contribute to the quality of democratic life by expanding the scope of citizens’ political participation and broadening the pool of participants. However, the relationship between political experiences on social media and political participation is not so strong as to justify unmitigated enthusiasm. Social media cannot and will not “save democracy” from citizens’ political apathy and distrust. While political experiences on social media do not disproportionately stimulate participation among ideologically extremist citizens, nor among those who voted for populist political actors, treating all forms of participation as equally desirable obscures important nuances that are key to evaluating social media’s contribution to democracy. Still, social media can be part of the solution to at least two important democratic ills—citizens’ disconnection from politics and inequalities between those who choose to exercise their voice and those who remain silent.

Incidental news exposure via social media and political participation: Evidence of reciprocal effects

2020 ◽  
pp. 146144482096212
Author(s):  
Sangwon Lee ◽  
Michael Xenos
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Causal Model ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Reciprocal Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Causal Direction ◽  
Path Models ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Reverse Path

The aim of this study is to investigate the causal direction of the relationship between incidental news exposure via social media and political participation. Unlike prior studies, which have relied on cross-sectional data to examine this link, we used two panel data sets to better identify causal relationships. Specifically, we evaluate two unidirectional models (i.e. mobilization and reinforcement) and a reciprocal causal model using both cross-lagged and autoregressive path models. The findings reveal a more complex relationship than most previous studies have suggested. The relationship between incidental news exposure via social media and political participation appears to be reciprocal, with incidental news exposure and political participation indirectly influencing each other through social media use for political purposes. Furthermore, while the relationship between incidental news exposure and political participation is reciprocal, the participation-to-incidental news exposure path exerted a stronger effect than the reverse path in both studies.

Membership in Party Organizations and the Problem of Decline of Parties

1991 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
PER SELLE ◽  
LARS SVÅSAND
Keyword(s):  
Party Identification ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
Party Decline ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

This article questions assumptions in the literature dealing with party decline. First, European aggregate membership data do not support a general conclusion of party decline. Second, individual-level data for Norway demonstrate the complexities of the relationship between membership, party identification, activity in parties, and membership stability. Third, we discuss societal changes commonly associated with party decline, such as the rise of corporatism, the new political movements, and the rise of the electronic media. The aurthors argue that these developments change the structural position of parties (external) and the relationship between different levels of the party organization itself (internal). While such developments may lead to party decline, they also give party organizations new political maneuverability. Furthermore, the growth of new parties, the politicization of new arenas, and the nationalization of party apparatuses counteract the factors associated with party decline.

A social cognitive approach to traditional media content and social media use: Selfie-related behavior as competitive strategy

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A Stefanone ◽  
Zhiying Yue ◽  
Zena Toh
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Reality Television ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
The Relationship

Mass media systems play increasingly prevalent roles in our lives. However, the relationship between traditional mass media exposure and behavior on social media is unclear, particularly in the context of selfie-related behavior, which includes capturing, editing, and sharing images of oneself. In the tradition of social cognitive theory, we argue that reality television (RTV) models a value system focused on the self and competition with others, and hypothesize a model where self-worth based on competition mediates the relationship between RTV viewing and selfie-related behavior. Path analysis results from survey data ( N = 334) support the mediation model. Selfie-related behavior was explicated and measured via novel instruments. Audience variables including online network size and diversity also played roles in selfie editing and sharing, as did specific social media platforms. Results are discussed in the context of evolving media systems.

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