USC Annenberg School Center For The Digital Future
The Internet and politics: mixed opinions
The Digital Future Project found a range of contrasting views about the impact of the Internet in the political process.
For example, almost two-thirds of users (64 percent) agree that the Internet has become important for political campaigns, and more than half of users age 16 or older (55 percent) said that using the Internet allows people to better understand politics.
However, even as the Internet’s role in political campaigning and candidate communication has increased dramatically, only small numbers of users believe that the Internet is a catalyst for political change: less than one-quarter of users (22 percent) believe that the Internet is a tool to encourage public officials to care more about what people think, while only 28 percent agree that using the Internet gives people more of a say in what government does. And the percentage of users who said that the Internet gives people more political power has remained about 30 percent for two years.
In a new question for the Digital Future Project, respondents were asked about their interest in voting online. Among respondents 16 and older, 41 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement, while 37 percent agreed or strongly agreed.
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