Commonwealth Review of Political Science
Abstract
The decline thesis proponents in the social capital literature have largely ignored the fastest growing venue for new social capital formation - the Internet. We argue that the Internet is making a larger impact than the current research acknowledges. Using survey data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project combined with a survey of college students, we confirm a strong positive relationship between online social networking and political participation. Further, we present evidence that, at least in 2008 election, there was a bias toward voting for Democrats among those who utilized online social networking services including Facebook and Twitter. The implications of these results are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Gainous, Jason and Wagner, Kevin M.
(2013)
"Bowling Online: The Internet and the New Social Capital,"
Commonwealth Review of Political Science: Vol. 1:
No.
1, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61611/2994-0044.1003
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/crps/vol1/iss1/2
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