LATEST PRINTED ISSUE

LATEST FREELY ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS

Foreign experience in researching social and political activity online

stmm. 2023 (2): 104-115

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2023.02.104

Full text: http://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2023-2/7.pdf

YULIIA HETMAN, Postgraduate Student at the Department of Social and Political Processes, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

yuliiahetman2021@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8300-520X

Over the past decades, depending on the development of information and communication technologies, the understanding of social and political online activity, its meaning, and research methods have been constantly changing. Therefore, the article analyzes new theoretical and methodological approaches and the results of foreign research on public and political online activity. It is worth noting that today the research interest is sharpened by the involvement of more and more citizens and the continuous expansion of online political participation methods in democratic countries. After all, to the huge list of forms of political participation, it is worth adding those that have become available with the development of information and communication technologies, in particular social media — the distribution of political content and the use of social networks to mobilize other people to solve certain political goals.

Many research questions have already been raised in the foreign scientific discourse: conceptualization of socio-political online activity, its determinants, predictors, and socio-demographic presentation. In my research, online social and political activism is conceptualized as a form of political participation, meaning citizen activism whose goal or outcome is to influence political and governmental outcomes. The study examines the activity itself because so far this type of activity cannot be called a practice, its normalization and habituation in everyday life have not yet been proven.

At the same time, the question of the future of the digital public sphere and its role in democracy is extremely relevant, because it can develop according to at least two opposite scenarios, which directly affects online activism, especially in transition countries. That is why it is so important to study and apply foreign experience in the study of Ukrainian social and political online activism. In general, the article demonstrates that a large gap in Ukrainian research on political participation on the Internet has yet to be filled.

Keywords: social and political activity online, political participation

References

  1. Anderson, J. & Rainie, L. (2021). The Future of Digital Spaces and Their Role in Democracy, Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. United States of America. Retrieved from: https://policycommons.net/artifacts/1897781/the-future-of-digital-spaces-and-their-role-in-democracy/2648793/ on 05 May 2023. CID: 20.500.12592/zq1cxp

  2. Beaunier, J., Veneti, A. (2020). Social media and political participation among British youth. Journal of Promotional Communications, 8(1), 67-85.

  3. Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action. Information. Communication & Society, 15(5), 739-768. Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: a meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication & Society, 18(5), 524-538. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.670661

  4. Chayinska, M., Miranda, D., & González, R. (2021). A longitudinal study of the bidirectional causal relationships between online political participation and offline collective action. Computers in Human Behavior, 121, 106810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106810 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106810

  5. Giddens, A. (1991). The consequences of modernity. Polity Press. Hong, Y., Trisha T. C. Lin. (2017). The impacts of political socialization on people's online and offline political participation - taking the youth of Singapore as an example. Advances in journalism and communication, 5, 50-70. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajc.2017.51003 https://doi.org/10.4236/ajc.2017.51003

  6. Jensen, M. J., Danziger, J. N., Venkatesh, A. (2007). Civil Society and Cyber Society: The Role of the Internet in Community Associations and Democratic Politics, The Information Society: An International Journal, 23(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240601057528 https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240601057528

  7. Kim, Y., Chen, H.T. (2016). Social media and online political participation: The mediating role of exposure to cross-cutting and like-minded perspectives. Telematics and Informatics, 33(2), 320-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2015.08.008

  8. Koc-Michalska, K., Schiffrin, A., Lopez, A., Boulianne, S., Bimber, B. (2021). From Online Political Posting to Mansplaining: The Gender Gap and Social Media in Political Discussion. Social Science Computer Review, 39(2), 197-210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319870259 https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319870259

  9. Oser, J., Grinson, A., Boulianne, Sh., Halperin, E. (2022), How Political Efficacy Relates to Online and Offline Political Participation: A Multilevel Meta-analysis. Political communication, 39(5), 607-633. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2086329 https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2086329

  10. Reznik, O. (2011). Civil Practices in the Transition Society: Factors, Subjects, Methods of Realization. [In Ukrainian]. Kyiv: Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine

  11. Reznik, О. (2013). Dynamics of public and political practices in Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. In: V. Vorona, M. Shulga (Eds.), Ukrainian Society 1992-2013. Status and dynamics of changes. Sociological monitoring (pp. 98-106). Kyiv: Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine.

  12. Sang, Y., Park, S., Kim, J., Park, S. (2023). News Podcast Use, Press Freedom, and Political Participation: A Cross-National Study of 38 Countries. International Journal of Communication, 17, 1402-1424.

  13. Smith, A. (2013): Civic engagement in the digital age, Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/04/25/civic-engagement-in-the-digital-age-2/

  14. Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., Verba, S., Brady, H. (2009). The Internet and Civic Engagement. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/09/01/the-internet-and-civic-engagement

  15. Theocharis, Y. (2015). The Conceptualization of Digitally Networked Participation. Social Media + Society. July-December, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305115610140 https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305115610140

  16. Theocharis, Y., de Moor, J., van Deth, J. W. (2019). Digitally Networked Participation and Lifestyle Politics as New Modes of Political Participation. Policy and Internet, 13(1), 30-53. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.231 https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.231

  17. Trilling, D., Kulshrestha, J., Vreese, C. de, Halagiera, D., Jakubowski, J., Moeller, J., Puschmann, C., Stępińska, A., Stier, S., Vaccari, C. (2022). Is sharing just a function of viewing? Predictors of sharing political and non-political news on Facebook. Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 2. https://doi.doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2022.016 https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2022.016

  18. van Deth, J. (2014). A conceptual map of political participation. Acta Polit, 49, 349-367. https://doi.org/10.1057/ap.2014.6 https://doi.org/10.1057/ap.2014.6

Received 11.04.2023

Foreign experience in researching social and political activity online

stmm. 2023 (2): 104-115

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2023.02.104

Full text: http://stmm.in.ua/archive/ukr/2023-2/7.pdf

YULIIA HETMAN, Postgraduate Student at the Department of Social and Political Processes, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)

yuliiahetman2021@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8300-520X

Over the past decades, depending on the development of information and communication technologies, the understanding of social and political online activity, its meaning, and research methods have been constantly changing. Therefore, the article analyzes new theoretical and methodological approaches and the results of foreign research on public and political online activity. It is worth noting that today the research interest is sharpened by the involvement of more and more citizens and the continuous expansion of online political participation methods in democratic countries. After all, to the huge list of forms of political participation, it is worth adding those that have become available with the development of information and communication technologies, in particular social media — the distribution of political content and the use of social networks to mobilize other people to solve certain political goals.

Many research questions have already been raised in the foreign scientific discourse: conceptualization of socio-political online activity, its determinants, predictors, and socio-demographic presentation. In my research, online social and political activism is conceptualized as a form of political participation, meaning citizen activism whose goal or outcome is to influence political and governmental outcomes. The study examines the activity itself because so far this type of activity cannot be called a practice, its normalization and habituation in everyday life have not yet been proven.

At the same time, the question of the future of the digital public sphere and its role in democracy is extremely relevant, because it can develop according to at least two opposite scenarios, which directly affects online activism, especially in transition countries. That is why it is so important to study and apply foreign experience in the study of Ukrainian social and political online activism. In general, the article demonstrates that a large gap in Ukrainian research on political participation on the Internet has yet to be filled.

Keywords: social and political activity online, political participation

References

  1. Anderson, J. & Rainie, L. (2021). The Future of Digital Spaces and Their Role in Democracy, Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. United States of America. Retrieved from: https://policycommons.net/artifacts/1897781/the-future-of-digital-spaces-and-their-role-in-democracy/2648793/ on 05 May 2023. CID: 20.500.12592/zq1cxp

  2. Beaunier, J., Veneti, A. (2020). Social media and political participation among British youth. Journal of Promotional Communications, 8(1), 67-85.

  3. Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A. (2012). The logic of connective action. Information. Communication & Society, 15(5), 739-768. Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: a meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication & Society, 18(5), 524-538. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.670661

  4. Chayinska, M., Miranda, D., & González, R. (2021). A longitudinal study of the bidirectional causal relationships between online political participation and offline collective action. Computers in Human Behavior, 121, 106810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106810 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106810

  5. Giddens, A. (1991). The consequences of modernity. Polity Press. Hong, Y., Trisha T. C. Lin. (2017). The impacts of political socialization on people's online and offline political participation - taking the youth of Singapore as an example. Advances in journalism and communication, 5, 50-70. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajc.2017.51003 https://doi.org/10.4236/ajc.2017.51003

  6. Jensen, M. J., Danziger, J. N., Venkatesh, A. (2007). Civil Society and Cyber Society: The Role of the Internet in Community Associations and Democratic Politics, The Information Society: An International Journal, 23(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240601057528 https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240601057528

  7. Kim, Y., Chen, H.T. (2016). Social media and online political participation: The mediating role of exposure to cross-cutting and like-minded perspectives. Telematics and Informatics, 33(2), 320-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2015.08.008

  8. Koc-Michalska, K., Schiffrin, A., Lopez, A., Boulianne, S., Bimber, B. (2021). From Online Political Posting to Mansplaining: The Gender Gap and Social Media in Political Discussion. Social Science Computer Review, 39(2), 197-210. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319870259 https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439319870259

  9. Oser, J., Grinson, A., Boulianne, Sh., Halperin, E. (2022), How Political Efficacy Relates to Online and Offline Political Participation: A Multilevel Meta-analysis. Political communication, 39(5), 607-633. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2086329 https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2086329

  10. Reznik, O. (2011). Civil Practices in the Transition Society: Factors, Subjects, Methods of Realization. [In Ukrainian]. Kyiv: Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine

  11. Reznik, О. (2013). Dynamics of public and political practices in Ukraine. [In Ukrainian]. In: V. Vorona, M. Shulga (Eds.), Ukrainian Society 1992-2013. Status and dynamics of changes. Sociological monitoring (pp. 98-106). Kyiv: Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine.

  12. Sang, Y., Park, S., Kim, J., Park, S. (2023). News Podcast Use, Press Freedom, and Political Participation: A Cross-National Study of 38 Countries. International Journal of Communication, 17, 1402-1424.

  13. Smith, A. (2013): Civic engagement in the digital age, Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/04/25/civic-engagement-in-the-digital-age-2/

  14. Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., Verba, S., Brady, H. (2009). The Internet and Civic Engagement. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/09/01/the-internet-and-civic-engagement

  15. Theocharis, Y. (2015). The Conceptualization of Digitally Networked Participation. Social Media + Society. July-December, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305115610140 https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305115610140

  16. Theocharis, Y., de Moor, J., van Deth, J. W. (2019). Digitally Networked Participation and Lifestyle Politics as New Modes of Political Participation. Policy and Internet, 13(1), 30-53. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.231 https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.231

  17. Trilling, D., Kulshrestha, J., Vreese, C. de, Halagiera, D., Jakubowski, J., Moeller, J., Puschmann, C., Stępińska, A., Stier, S., Vaccari, C. (2022). Is sharing just a function of viewing? Predictors of sharing political and non-political news on Facebook. Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 2. https://doi.doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2022.016 https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2022.016

  18. van Deth, J. (2014). A conceptual map of political participation. Acta Polit, 49, 349-367. https://doi.org/10.1057/ap.2014.6 https://doi.org/10.1057/ap.2014.6

Received 11.04.2023

LATEST PRINTED ISSUE

LATEST FREELY ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS

} } } } }