Involvement, political participation and types of media consumption in Colombia

Abstract

In the last ten years the relationship between politics and citizens has been affected by the surge of social media and the Internet, potentially democracy empowerers, as they bring information and more accessible spaces for political participation. This study is intended to analyze two dimensions of the use of the Internet and social networks: entertainment and active political Internet uses (APIU), with the purpose of examining their impact on political involvement and participation on Colombians.\n \nResults suggest that political active uses of the Internet do not have significant effects on political involvement or on political voting participation. Nonetheless, they significantly and positively affect the political protest variable.