Page 241 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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time spent using the web – is moderately strong, but they hardly vary
precisely together across individuals (R = 0.43). 50 Time spent in chat
rooms, one of the most interactive forms of Internet use, is weakly cor-
related with e-mail use (R = 0.20) but more strongly correlated with
time spent on the web (R = 0.54). Unfortunately, the 2000 GSS was
conducted before the general election got into full swing and so does
not contain the kinds of political variables needed to resolve further
the puzzles left by the NES data. It does suggest that as better data
about different aspects of Internet use become available, new inferences
will be possible about political behavior. It may be that the Internet
variables in the NES are simply capturing the efforts of parties and
candidates to mobilize citizens through e-mail and web appeals, which
would not be a particularly new or theoretically important develop-
ment. On the other hand, this finding may reflect a substantively new
effect of the changing communication environment on a handful of
citizens’ sense of efficacy or on the relationship between interest and
action. The message here is clear: As the Internet has evolved to be-
come a rich and varied environment for communication and informa-
tion, Internet use has become a multidimensional phenomenon best
treated as a set of variables involving related but often quite divergent
activities.
Analyses of Internet use in politics must be designed with this in mind.
One important task will be to differentiate among information sought by
citizens in purposive ways; information they encounter unintentionally,
such as at a news site on the web; and information distributed to them
by a political organization.
Thebottomlineinthisanalysisisconsistentwiththepsychologicalap-
proach to information and behavior: The new information environment
has not changed levels of political engagement in any substantial way.
This analysis does leave the door open, though, to possible refinements
as more data become available about the Internet and political behav-
51
ior. In 2000, but not in 1998 (or 1996 ), a tiny number of those who
obtained political information on line were more likely to vote, donate
money, and attend a meeting or rally than politically and demograph-
ically similar people who did not use the Internet in that way. A better
understanding of what this means will have to await improved survey
measures that disaggregate forms of Internet use.

50
All values are Pearson’s R; p = 0.01.
51
Seenote46above.
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