Despite the consensus that social media are changing communication, no such consensus exists when it comes to assessing the effects that the emerging social network services may have on political participation. While optimistic assumptions point toward increased interest and the fostering of social engagement through the use of online social networks, the more skeptical view expects an exacerbation of the trend toward dwindling political interest and increasing political apathy, as manifested, for example, in declining voter participation and party membership. The present study argues that the contradictory assessments are due to different definitions of participation, which themselves reflect changing notions of democracy. Based on representative survey data, the analysis focuses on the relationship of media use and various forms of political participation, examining whether the former ideal of "collective action" is being replaced by the notion of "connective action" (W. Lance Bennett), which puts more emphasis on participatory action as an act of personal expression across trusted social networks.
Cooperation Partners
Brian D. Loader, University of York, Department of Sociology (Congress Organisation: “Digital Media, Political Polarization and Challenges to Democracy”)
Congress Organisation
Digital Media, Political Polarization and Challenges to Democracy - an International Symposium (with the University of York), Vienna, 21-22 September 2017
ORF DialogForum „Wer ist das Volk? [Who are the People?]“ - Public Lecture mit W. Lance Bennett, University of Washington (with the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF), Vienna, 21 September 2017
Changing Media – Changing Democracy? Exploring the Democratic Potential of Social Media. 20th Anniversary Conference of the Institute for Comparative Media and Communication Studies (CMC) along with the 4th Research Conference of the Austrian Research Association – Working Group on Democracy and the 2014 Workshop of the “Network Media Structures”, Vienna, 6-7 November 2014
In the Media
Comment on the lecture by W. Lance Bennett in: Falter, 04.10.2017
Maren Beaufort and Josef Seethaler on social media and political engagement: Ö1 – “Digital.Leben“, 25.01.2016
20th Anniversary Conference of CMC on Youtube, 10 November 2014
Publications and Lectures
Books and Monographs
Books and Monographs
- . (2019). Digital media, political polarization and challenges to democracy. London, New York: Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/Digital-Media-Political-Polarization-and-Challenges-to-Democracy/Beaufort/p/book/9780367727345
- . (2019). Changing media – changing democracy? Exploring the democratic potential of social media (= Relation – Communication Research in Comparative Perspective, Vol. 5). Changing media – changing democracy? Exploring the democratic potential of social media (= Relation – Communication Research in Comparative Perspective, Vol. 5). Wien: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press.
- . (2018). Digital media, political polarization and challenges to democracy. Special issue of Information, Communication & Society, 21(7). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rics20/21/7?nav=tocList
- . (2012). Participation. Special Issue "Communications. The European Journal of Communication Research", Vol. 37(3). Communications. The European Journal of Communication Reserach (p. 120). New York/ Berlin: De Gruyter.
Articles and Book Chapters
Articles and Book Chapters
- . (2024). Democratic societies in the digital age: What role for personalized data services? [in press, 2024]. In Austrian Institute of Technology (Ed.), Safeguarding European values and global competitiveness in the digital space. Data sovereignty – ensuring agency and control in the digital space – for individuals, companies, societies and states (p. n/a). Vienna.
- . (2023). Informationskompetenz und der digitale öffentliche Raum - Die Relevanz von Informationskompetenz in Online-Kommunikationsräumen aus demokratiepolitischer Perspektive. [Information Literacy and the Digital Public Sphere - A Democratic Perspective on Information Literacy in Online Communication Spaces]. In W. Struber, Rauschenberger, S., Ali-Pahlavani, N., Andreasch D.,, Ernest, S., Franek, J., & Jäger, A. (Eds.), Medienkompetenzbericht 2023. Wien: RTR.
- . (2021). Von kollektiver zu konnektiver Logik? Mediennutzung und politisch-gesellschaftliche Beteiligung im Zeit- und Ländervergleich [From collective to connective logic? Media use and political participation across time and countries]. In M. Eisenegger, M. Prinzing,, P. Ettinger,, & R. Blum, (Eds.), Digitaler Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit: Historische Verortung, Modelle und Konsequenzen (pp. 399–420). Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
- . (2020). "Ordinary people still have voices in the public sphere": Zur Logic of Connective Action von W. Lance Bennett und Alexandra Segerberg. Medien &Amp; Zeit, 35, 40-43.
- . (2019). Introduction: Digital media, political polarization and challenges to democracy. In M. Beaufort (Ed.), Digital media, political polarization and challenges to democracy (pp. 1-7). London, New York: Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/Digital-Media-Political-Polarization-and-Challenges-to-Democracy/Beaufort/p/book/9780367727345
- . (2018). Digital media, political polarization and challenges to democracy. Information, Communication &Amp; Society, 21, 915-920. doi:10.1080/1369118X.2018.1451909
- . (2016). Kontakt mit Andersdenkenden im Social Web: Chance oder Gefahr für die politische Partizipation? Ergebnisse einer Befragung österreichischer UserInnen [Disagreement in social media: Chance or threat for political participation? Results of a survey among Austrian users]. In D. Bertel, Himmelsbach, J., Krakovsky, C., Metzler, B., Riedl, A., & Möller, L. (Eds.), Junge Perspektiven auf Partizipation in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Beiträge zur ersten under.docs - Fachtagung zu Kommunikation [Young perspectives on participation in the past and the present] (pp. 300-323). Wien: danzig & unfried.
- . (2014). Wandel der Mediennutzung – Wandel im politischen Verhalten? [Changing media use–Changing political participation?]. Medien Journal, 38, 15-41.
- . (2013). The mediation of civic participation: Diverse forms of political agency in a multimedia age. In N. Carpentier, Schrøder, K., & Hallet, L. (Eds.), Transforming audiences, transforming societies.
Research Papers
Research Papers
- . (2021). Assessing the Signatories' COVID-19 Reports / Executive Summary. Florence. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1814/74328
- . (2017). Zivilgesellschaft – wer ist das? Fakten, Auswertungen und Ergebnisse der vom Forschungsinstitut Zivilgesellschaft im Jahr 2016 und 2017 durchgeführten empirischen Studie unter 1.500 TeilnehmerInnen in Österreich ]Who is the civil society? Facts, analysis, and results of the empirical study realized by the Research Institute of Civil Society in the years 2016 and 2017 with 1500 participants from Austria]. Wien. Retrieved from https://fiz.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FiZ-a5-quer-12s-05_final.pdf
- . Measuring Disinformation in a Self-Regulatory Environment. [accepted, 08.09.2022]. Florence.
- . Media Exemption: Protecting Editorial Independence or a loophole for disinformation? [accepted, 08.09.2022]. Florence.
Lectures
Lectures
-
14/09/2023
, Berlin
Seethaler, Josef Beaufort, Maren
Politische Gestaltung von Medienstrukturen Ein Modell zur Analyse der rechtlichen und (selbst)regulatorischen Rahmenbedingungen in den Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union
Workshop des Netzwerks Medienstrukturen -
25/08/2023
, Alpbach
Beaufort, M.
Digital world as a semblance of our reality – personalized data services – a curse or a blessing?
Experts-LAB at the European Forum Alpbach 2023: Datensouveränität – Handlungsfähigkeit und Kontrolle im digitalen Raum. [Data Sovereignty - Agency and Control in the Digital Space]. -
25/07/2023
, Vienna
Beaufort, M.
Ways the European Union can support media pluralism, media freedom and the fight against disinformation. Déjeuner de travail sur le theme de la lutte contre la désinformation avec Secrétaire d’État chargée de l’Europe Laurence Boone
Ambassade de la République Française [Meeting of Experts with Minister of State for Europe Laurence Boone on the theme of combating disinformation] -
22/10/2022
, Aarhus
Beaufort, Maren
Lessons learnt from “Covid-19-Reporting”
9th European Communication Conference of the European Research Communication Association (ECREA) -
01/04/2022
, Brussels (online)
Beaufort, M.
Policy Research and Analysis: Structural Indicators.
Presentation to the European Commission (Workshop). -
15/03/2022
, Florence
Beaufort, M.
Developing Structural Indicators to Measure the Disinformation Phenomenon.
Presentation to the European Commission (Workshop). -
14/02/2022
, Florence
Beaufort, Maren
Tackling disinformation – Structural indicators
Conference of the European Media Observatory (EDMO): Information Session on Structural Indicators for EDMO-Hubs under the EU Digital Europe Programme -
21/01/2022
, Florence
Beaufort, M. Brogi, E.
Structural Indicators to Measure the Disinformation Phenomenon.
Presentation at the Conference of the Advisory Board of the European Media Observatory (EDMO). -
27/05/2021
, Washington, DC
Beaufort, M. Seethaler, J.
From collective to connective Logic? A temporal and national comparison of media use and participation [online]
71st Annual ICA Conference -
11/05/2021
, Wien
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Digital und sozial, aber demokratisch? Soziale Online-Netzwerke and politische Partizipation [Online networks and political participation] [online; postponed from 2020]
20. ITA-Konferenzrenz: „Digital, direkt, demokratisch? – Technikfolgenabschätzung und die Zukunft der Demokratie“ -
16/12/2020
, Wien
Beaufort, Maren
Vom Pluralismus zur Kakophonie – Kann die Demokratie die Schrumpfung der herkömmlichen Mainstream-Medien überstehen? [From pluralism to cacophony - Can democracy survive the shrinking of traditional mainstream media?][online]
Verfassungsrechtliche und institutionelle Herausforderungen der Polarisierung und der digitalen Demokratie. Polish Academy of Sciences, Scientific Center in Vienna -
05/06/2020
, Athens
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Social media use, young Europeans and their political selves (postponed)
ICS 2020: Constructing Young Selves in a Digital Media Ecology - Youth Cultures, Practices and Identity -
30/11/2018
, Lucerne
Seethaler, Josef Beaufort, Maren
Von kollektiver zu konnektiver Logik? Eine vergleichende Untersuchung des Verhältnisses von Mediennutzung und politischer Beteiligung [From a collective to a connective logic? Comparing media use and political participation across time and countries]]
Mediensymposium 2018: Digitaler Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit – Historische Verortung, Modelle und Konsequenzen -
11/05/2018
, Mannheim
Seethaler, Josef
Soziale Netzwerkmedien als Institutionen? Ein Gedankenaustausch aus Anlass des Schader-Preises 2018 an Otfried Jarren [Social network media as institutions? A discussion on the occasion of the award of the Schader Prize 2018 to Otfried Jarren]
63rd Annual Conference of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) -
13/04/2018
, Lugano
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Rechtspopulismus, politisches Informationsverhalten und Vertrauen in den Journalismus – ein innereuropäischer Vergleich, 2011-2017 [Right-wing populism, political information use, and trust in journalism - A European comparison, 2011-2017]
Politischer Journalismus im Ländervergleich vor dem Hintergrund des Rechtspopulismus – Section Panel der Fachgruppe Politische Kommunikation bei der Jahrestagung der SGKM 2018 -
06/04/2018
, Vitznau
Seethaler, Josef
Medienwandel - Öffentlichkeitswandel - Wandel der Demokratie [Media change - change of the public sphere - change of democracy]
Vitznauer Gespräche des Instituts für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung der Universität Zürich (IKMZ): Medien- und Öffentlichkeitswandel | Forum 3 -
06/04/2018
, Vitznau
Seethaler, Josef Pfetsch, Barbara Esser, Frank
Bericht der Fokusgruppe "Integration & Vielfalt" [Report of the focus group "Integration & Diversity"]
Vitznauer Gespräche des Instituts für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung der Universität Zürich (IKMZ): Medien- und Öffentlichkeitswandel | Forum 3 -
21/09/2017
, Vienna
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Changing media – Changing democracy, or: Changing democracy – Changing media?
Digital Media, Political Polarization and Challenges to Democracy: An International Symposium -
06/04/2017
, Vitznau
Seethaler, Josef
Medien und Öffentlichkeit in historischer Perspektive [The media and the public sphere in historical perspective]
Veranstaltungszyklus "Medien- und Öffentlichkeitswandel" -
24/11/2016
, Barcelona
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Citizen participation, social media use, and the shift in political trust: Results from a European survey
Regional Conference of the World Association of Public Opinion Research (WAPOR): "Political Trust in Contemporary Representative Democracies" -
05/08/2016
, Minneapolis
Seethaler, Josef Beaufort, Maren
Social media and civic engagement: Results from a European survey
99th Annual Convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) -
19/07/2016
, York
Seethaler, Josef Beaufort, Maren
Europe's youth on the move: Online communication, civic engagement, and connective action
Contemporary Political Youth Culture & Communication Symposium -
21/10/2015
, Phoenix, Arizona
Seethaler, Josef Beaufort, Maren
The long way from technical to social connectivity: Exploring the digital divide in 15 European countries
Partnership for Progress on the Digital Divide. 2015 International Conference -
03/10/2015
, Rovinj
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Change in media use - Change in political participation? A cross-national comparative study
"Communication, Democracy and Digital Technology" - Conference of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) -
16/07/2015
, Montreal
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Can social networks help to foster participatory democracy? A comparative analysis in 15 European countries
2015 Annual Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) -
24/04/2015
, St. Petersburg
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Putting social media in context: The interconnections between media systems, social media use, and political participation
3rd International Conference: Comparative media studies in today's world: Social media in various socio-political contexts -
24/01/2015
, Bamberg
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Social Media und politische Beteiligung: Zur Notwendigkeit einer theoretischen Neubestimmung des Partizipationsbegriffs [Social media and political participation: Towards a refined theoretical framework for participation]
Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung in der DGPuK 2015 -
06/11/2014
, Wien
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Wie soziale Online-Netzwerke politische Beteiligung verändern [How social online networks change political participation]
Medienwandel - Wandel der Demokratie? Das demokratische Potenzial der Social Media [Changing Media - Changing Democracy? Exploring the Democratic Potential of Social Media] -
12/04/2014
, Zurich
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Von Kollektivität zu Konnektivität? Soziale Medien und politische Beteiligung [From collectivity tp connectivity? Social media and political participation]
40. Jahrestagung der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft (SGKM) [Paper presented at the 2014 Annual Conference of the Swiss Association of Media and Communication Research (SACM)] -
18/12/2013
, Klagenfurt
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
From Collectivity to Connectivity? Social Media and Political Behavior
Forschungsdialog -
18/10/2013
, Klagenfurt
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Von kollektivem zu konnektivem Handeln? Medienwandel und politische Folgen [From collective to connective action? Media change and political consequences]
Kommunikationswissenschaftliche Tage 2013 "Changing Communications II"
Popular Publications
Popular Publications
- . (2017). Von neuen Formen der Kommunikation zu neuen Formen der Partizipation–oder umgekehrt? [From new forms of communication to new forms of participation–or vice versa?]. Texte: Öffentlich-Rechtliche Qualität Im Diskurs, 20, 24-35. Retrieved from http://zukunft.orf.at/show_content.php?sid=147&pvi_id=1815&pvi_medientyp=t&oti_tag=Texte
- . (2015). "Wenn der Tratsch in Hass umschlägt, ist Feuer am Dach" [Interview]. Salzburger Nachrichten.
Popular Talks
Popular Talks
-
09/11/2023
, Vienna
Beaufort, M.
Paneldiskussion [Information literacy from a democracy perspective]
Annual Conference of RTR on: Medienkompetenz – Schlüssel „Bildung“ als gesamtgesellschaftliche Aufgabe. [Media literacy - the key factor of "education" as a challenge for society]. -
15/11/2022
Beaufort, M.
Social Media Konzerne in der Krise. [Interview mit Maria Knips-Witting]
ORF Zeit im Bild (ZIB 1) -
15/11/2022
Beaufort, M.
Social Media am Ende? [Beitrag von Phillipp Maschl]
ORF Zeit im Bild Nacht (ZIB Nacht) -
26/09/2020
, Wien
Seethaler, J.
Die große Gereiztheit [Radiodiskussion mit Nadja Hahn (Ö1) und Ursula Maier-Rabler (Universität Salzburg) unter der Leitung von Golli Marboe]
radio klassik Stephansdom -
04/09/2019
, Vienna
Seethaler, Josef
Partizipation in einer mediatisierten Gesellschaft II [Participation in a mediatized society II]
11. Wiener Seminar für Mitarbeiter/innen der Österreich-Bibliotheken des Bundesministeriums für Europa, Integeation und Äußeres -
02/07/2019
, Vienna
Seethaler, Josef
The digital gap
#scvie19 - stARTcamp Wien -
26/06/2019
, Vienna
Seethaler, Josef
Partizipation in einer mediatisierten Gesellschaft I [Participation in a mediatized society I]
10. Wiener Seminar für Mitarbeiter/innen der Österreich-Bibliotheken des Bundesministeriums für Europa, Integeation und Äußeres -
07/12/2017
, Wien
Seethaler, Josef
Journalismus und Partizipation [Journalism and participation]
Lernlabor Audience Engagement am fjum - Forum Journalismus und Medien -
22/03/2017
, St. Wolfgang
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Digitale Solidarität und Partizipation
"...und raus bist DU!? Solidarität in der Erwachsenenbildung" Seminar des Bundesinstituts für Erwachsenenbildung (bifeb) -
15/08/2016
, Wien
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Vielbeschworene Solidarität - die Einheit in der Vielfalt finden [Interview mit Juliane Nagiller zu Social Media und Partizipation]
Radiokolleg (Ö1) -
15/01/2016
, Wien
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler,Josef
Verdrossen, aber politisch: Social Media-Engagement ist kein Lippenbekenntnis [Interview mit Raffael Fritz]
Digital leben -
23/05/2014
, Innsbruck
Beaufort, Maren Seethaler, Josef
Auswirkungen von Social Media auf politische Partizipation [impact of social media use on political participation]
Medien in der Postdemokratie