New voices in the public sphere : political conversation in the internet age / Jennifer Stromer-Galley.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Microformat

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Stromer-Galley, Jennifer.

Contributor:

Price, Vincent, advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Communication.

Communication--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Communication.

Communication--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

ix, 241 pages ; 29 cm

Production:

2002.

Summary:

Political conversation is a critical component to a healthy public sphere and a functioning democracy. In modern times, political conversation primarily happens with friends and family often within the confines of the home, depriving the public sphere of a critical component. On the internet, there exist spaces devoted to political, public discussion. The question is, why do people visit these online discussion spaces to talk politics? Interviews conducted with 69 people who participated on one of three discussion spaces, Usenet, Yahoo's chat, and Yahoo's message boards, provided insight into what motivates people to talk politics online. The interviews suggest that people use these discussion spaces because they do not feel comfortable having the same kinds of political conversations offline. That is, political talk with acquaintances and strangers is uncomfortable, and it is so for a number of reasons. Political talk invites disagreement. Disagreement violates the pact of civility that dictates social relations with people who are unfamiliar with each other. Political talk reveals something of the private self, which is avoided with unfamiliar others. Online, the social norms that discourage political conversation are mitigated by the channel characteristics of the medium. Because the political conversations are textual, the social cues people normally use to judge others' reactions are absent, enabling those who use the discussion spaces to feel more anonymous and less socially present in the discussion. This allows people to express their true political opinions. The discussion spaces bring people together who are diverse in geography and political ideology, calling into being a genuine public in which people can express their opinions and survey the opinions of others. A large probability sample of people was also surveyed to determine whether the same people who talk politics online do so offline. Survey results suggest people who talk politics with friends and family and acquaintances are different from those who talk online, and that the same people who talk politics online are distinct from those who choose to talk with friends and family and with acquaintances. This research suggests, thus, that there are "new voices" in the public sphere.

Notes:

Supervisor: Vincent Price.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Communication) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2002.

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

University Microfilms order no.: 3073056.

OCLC:

244972143