This article investigates how media use differs across age groups, and whether this matters for p... more This article investigates how media use differs across age groups, and whether this matters for people’s inclination to participate politically. More specifically, this study investigates the impact of social media use for political purposes and attention to political news in traditional media, on political interest and offline political participation. The findings, based on a four-wave panel study conducted during the 2010 Swedish national election campaign, show a) clear differences in media use between age groups, and b) that both political social media use and attention to political news in traditional media increases in political engagement over time. Thus, this study suggests that frequent social media use among young citizens can function as a leveller in terms of motivating political participation.
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Papers by Jesper Stromback