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Cited by 12Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Media and PoliticsDecision-Making and Behavioral Economics

Googling Politics: How Offloading Affects Voting and Political Knowledge

Kleinberg, Mona S., Lau, Richard R.·2021·Political Psychology
DOI 10.1111/pops.12689
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Abstract

Studies suggest that individuals are less likely to process information they can easily look up. Instead of committing information to memory, they rely on the Internet to store information for them—a phenomenon known as “offloading.” We examine the effects of offloading on political knowledge and voting behavior. Using data from a 10‐wave panel experiment designed to study information processing in two distinct information environments, we demonstrate that people whose environment is conducive to offloading learn more during an election campaign than individuals whose information environment is not conducive to offloading, even though they look at less information during the campaign. Individuals in the offloading condition also make better vote choices despite examining less information. These results suggest that offloading reduces cognitive load, thereby freeing up processing space in working memory, which can increase learning of information that is accessed, and improve decision‐making.

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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 [74]

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Authors
Kleinberg, M. S., & Lau, R. R.
Affiliations
  • University of Massachusetts Lowell (US)
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
Kleinberg, Mona S.
ORCID
Venue
Political Psychology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-09-29
Volume
42
Issue
1
Pages
93-110
ISSN
  • 0162-895X (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9221
DOI
10.1111/pops.12689
OpenAlex
W3089487765
Cited by
12
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
FWCI
6.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
Political Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
Keywords
offloading, political knowledge, voting behavior, information processing, working memory, cognitive load, political campaigns, information environment, online information access, political learning

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