Political Participation on Social Media

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 1-17

3. The Internet, Social Media and Politics

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 19-37

4. Human Factors

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 39-59

5. Behaviour

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 61-81

6. Belief, Identity and the Presentation of Self

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 83-101

7. Crosstalk: Emotion and Misunderstanding in Online Debate

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 103-123

8. Self-Understanding of Participation

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 125-146

9. Perceptions of Efficacy

   • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

   Pages 147-164

10. Experience of Major UK Debates

    • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

    Pages 165-183

11. Into the Labyrinth: Media Through a Social Media Lens

    • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

    Pages 185-200

12. Conclusion

    • Elizabeth Anne Bailey

    Pages 201-211

13. Back Matter

    Pages 213-217

    PDF

This book explores people’s lived experience of discussing politics online. Based on original research involving in-depth conversations with 85 participants around the UK, it asks people about their own understanding of their online engagement, focusing on major UK political events and related debates –the Scottish Independence Referendum, the EU Referendum and the UK Labour Party leadership contests. It shows how people’s experiences are varied and influenced by many factors, but with a focus on personal feelings, needs and concerns as much as wider political ones. Participants struggle with self-awareness and understanding the motives and actions of others, which has an impact on their behaviour and perceived efficacy. They can have profound emotional responses owing to the constraints of using social media but still value it as a medium for political learning and self-expression. Communication effects in this environment are complex and unpredictable – there is much ‘crosstalk’. Social media itself is proving to be an unprecedented learning environment, where people begin to better understand their own behaviour and that of others and adapt over time.

• British Politics
• Political Participation
• Digital political communication
• Qualitative methodology
• Lived experience
• Online politics
• Online political experience
• Online political behaviour

“The greatest contribution of Political Participation on Social Media: The Lived Experience of Online Debate is that it provides a clear interdisciplinary context for future scholarship on the many human factors that affect political participation. It is a highly recommended resource with several implications in an academic and political context in politics, communication, media, psychology, and journalism disciplines and professions alike.” (Jade Larson, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 100 (2), 2023)

• University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK

  Elizabeth Anne Bailey

Elizabeth Anne Bailey completed her PhD at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. Before this, she worked for more than two decades in the UK Civil Service where she specialised in public communications strategy and management, managing major national communications campaigns. She currently works in local government and is a political campaigns ambassador for a large national charity.

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