The Influence of Digital Communications on Political Participation

Abstract

The article provides a review of studies assessing the effects of digital communication technologies on the political participation of citizens. Political participation is understood as civic engagement. The author considers the changes in the forms of political participation of citizens in the transition of digital communications from unidirectional information technologies Web 1.0 to interactive technologies Web 2.0 used in social media. Evaluation of the impact of digital communications on public activity is shown from various well-founded positions of ‘cyber-pessimists’ and ‘cyberoptimists’. Pessimists note the negative effects of the increased use of digital communications, which consist of social disunity, the erosion of social capital and, as a result, in a decrease in civil and political activity. In turn, optimists argue that the intensive use of digital communications has opened up opportunities for access to the necessary information and the creation of new forms of political participation, significantly reducing the cost (time, effort) of mobilising supporters and coordinating action. Moreover, digital media has created conditions for the implementation of creative and non-political formats of participation, which are often transformed into political actions. Based on the metadata, the author concluded it is necessary to strengthen and diversity of the effects of digital communication on civic and political participation.