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Cited by 33Social Media and PoliticsMedia Influence and PoliticsMedia Studies and Communication

A Bigger Pie: The Effects of High-Speed Internet on Political Behavior

Open access
Lelkes, Yphtach·2020·Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
DOI 10.1093/jcmc/zmaa002
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Abstract

The impact of broader media choice on political behavior is central to the study of political communication. The availability of high-speed Internet, which allows for high bandwidth media on demand, has given consumers virtually unlimited information choices. Most research assumes that the time spent online is fixed; therefore, broader media choice decreases news consumption, political knowledge, and turnout, especially among the politically uninterested. In this article, I explore another possibility: as Internet quality improves, we spend more time online and consume more information, which subsequently increases knowledge and turnout. To test this possibility, I link geocoded Internet download speed data with survey data. A series of studies indicate that higher quality Internet increases political information search, news consumption, and political knowledge, although perhaps not turnout. This work suggests that our assumption of trade-offs between news consumption and entertainment may need reconsideration.

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Crossref · 10.1093/jcmc/zmaa002

Cites

73 of 73 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Multiple articles found that engagement with digital media increased political knowledge and that engagement with political content on social media increased political interest among adolescents.

    “Multiple articles found that engagement with digital media increased political knowledge67,70,72,74 and that engagement with political content on social media increased political interest among adolescents111.”

    From A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy (2022) · cites this paper as [67]

    The Results (page not provided) report that faster Internet predicted higher political knowledge, supporting the knowledge portion attributed to this source. The study measured Internet speed rather than directly establishing that engagement with digital media caused the increase. The separate claim about adolescents’ political interest is attached to citation 111, not this source. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • Political messages on social media, as well as faster download speed, can increase information-seeking in the political domain.

    “In line with these findings, it has been reported that political messages on social media, as well as faster download speed, can increase information-seeking in the political domain67,71.”

    From A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy (2022) · cites this paper as [67]

    The Abstract and Study 1 report that faster download speeds predict more searches for political information. The section on Internet access and quality discusses encountering political information on Facebook, but does not show that political messages on social media increase information-seeking. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Common causal inference techniques used in the sample include instrumental variable designs, matching approaches, and panel designs.

    “Common causal inference techniques that were used in our sample include instrumental variable designs that introduce exogenous variation in the treatment variable59–63, matching approaches to explicitly balance treatment and control groups64–66, and panel designs that account for unobserved confounders with unit and/or time-fixed effects67,68.”

    From A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy (2022) · cites this paper as [67]

  • A range of articles found heterogeneity in effects for varying levels of political interest, political orientation and different characteristics of online content.

    “In summary, a range of articles found heterogeneity in effects for varying levels of political interest67,113, political orientation63,69,70 and different characteristics of online content111.”

    From A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy (2022) · cites this paper as [67]

  • When looking at news consumption, several articles showed that social media and search engines diversify people's news diets.

    “On the one hand, when looking at news consumption, several articles showed that social media and search engines diversify people’s news diets67,143–146.”

    From A systematic review of worldwide causal and correlational evidence on digital media and democracy (2022) · cites this paper as [67]

    The section ‘A next generation of Internet effects research’ discusses increased news consumption and incidental exposure to political information, including on Facebook. Our copy does not establish that social media or search engines diversify the news sources people consume; searches for news-diet diversity returned no such finding. The supplied passages have no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.72)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [15]15. Chen, Y., & Yang, D. Y. (2019). The Impact of Media Censorship: 1984 or Brave New World? American Economic Review, (forthcoming). Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/ 2017/.
  2. [56]56. Rivers, D., & Bailey, D. (2009). Inference from matched samples in the 2008 US national elections. In Proceedings of the joint statistical meetings (Vol. 1, pp. 627-639). Palo Alto, CA: YouGov/Polimetrix.

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Authors
Lelkes, Y.
Affiliations
Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
ORCID
Lelkes, Yphtach
Venue
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2020-05-01
Volume
25
Issue
3
Pages
199-216
ISSN
1083-6101 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1093/jcmc/zmaa002
OpenAlex
W3028585041
Cited by
33
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 1
FWCI
5.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
Locations
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Influence and Politics
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Media Studies and Communication
Keywords
high-speed internet, political behavior, news consumption, political knowledge, voter turnout, media selection, online time

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