This new Pew internet poll is going to get a lot of coverage.
The Internet and Campaign 2004: The internet was a key force in politics last year as 75 million Americans used it to get news, discuss candidates in emails, and participate directly in the political process
3/6/2005 | MemoReport | Lee Rainie, John Horrigan, Michael Cornfield
The internet became an essential part of American politics in 2004. Fully 75 million Americans – 37% of the adult population and 61% of online Americans – used the internet to get political news and information, discuss candidates and debate issues in emails, or participate directly in the political process by volunteering or giving contributions to candidates.
A post-election, nationwide survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press shows that the online political news consumer population grew dramatically from 18% of the U.S. population in 2000 to 29% in 2004. There was also a striking increase in the number who cited the internet as one of their primary sources of news about the presidential campaign: 11% of registered voters said the internet was a primary source of political news in 2000 and 18% said that in 2004.
For campaign 2004, the overall figures related to uses of the internet for politics were:
# 52% of internet users, or about 63 million people, said they went online to get news or information about the 2004 elections. We call them online political news consumers.
# 35% of internet users, or about 43 million people, said they used email to discuss politics, and one of the most popular email subjects was jokes about the candidates and the election.
# 11% of internet users, or more than 13 million people, went online to engage directly in campaign activities such as donating money, volunteering, or learning about political events to attend.
A commentary on the internet and politics by Michael Cornfield accompanies this report.
pewinternet.org |
