Mobile news use and participation in elections: A bridge for the democratic divide?

Abstract

This study explores the role of mobile news in democracy by examining individual-level variations in mobile election news use based on demographics, socioeconomic indicators, and mobile media activity breadth, and, in turn, how mobile news use is associated with political participation. Nationally representative data from a random-sample survey of American adults ( N = 2,250) in the 2010 general election were analyzed to better explain who mobile election news users are, how they compare to nonusers, and whether mobile news use was associated with voter turnout and mobile campaign donation. Findings underscore the significance of mobile media use and mobile news as phenomena of emerging importance in the election campaigns, and important differential patterns in the relationships of sociodemographics, mobile media, and electoral participation are discussed. By providing a nuanced accounting of the socioeconomic and demographic profile of mobile election news users and how those individuals differ from nonusers, this study enriches explanations of how societal privilege and the benefits of political engagement are related in complicated ways to individual-level variations in consuming and using mobile election news. Notably, for racial minorities, mobile media may provide a bridge across the digital-driven democratic divide and a more effective means of engaging with digital election information than other ICTs. Analysis also extends what is known about how citizens use mobile news to engage with increasingly personalized election campaigns. Results indicate that mobile election news use was a significant positive predictor of the odds of having voted and whether individuals used their mobile devices to make contributions during the campaign. These findings support arguments that the unique qualities of mobile devices are contributing to new and different pathways to political engagement while also retaining significance in relation to traditional forms of offline political participation.