Direct and Differential Effects of the Internet on Political and Civic Engagement

Abstract

Given the significant rise in the number of Americans who turn to the Internet for political information, we examine the effects of these behaviors on political and civic engagement in an evolving media landscape. Specifically, we test hypotheses derived from competing models—the instrumental approach, which posits direct effects of Internet use and a psychological approach, which predicts contingent effects. Analyses of the 2004 American National Election Studies (N = 1,212) reveal a pattern of direct effects of Internet use on basic information acquisition and use but contingent effects for concrete acts of civic or political engagement. These results provide an important window on the political impacts of contemporary Internet use and suggest that future reassessments of the Internet’s role in public life should continue to probe for direct as well as differential effects.