Enlightened (Digital) Citizens?

Political communication is undergoing a digital transformation. As citizens increasingly rely on social media for both entertainment and information on everyday life and politics, the line between entertainment and information is becoming increasingly opaque. There is a concern that frequent social media use may result in an uninformed or, worse, misinformed electorate. Reading the news on social media is only a pastime for citizens. Furthermore, citizens not only utilize social media for information but also for private communication and entertainment. Consequently, they may only incidentally be exposed to news, possibly resulting in lower levels of awareness. This is particularly problematic in contexts with high information demands, such as direct democratic votes in Switzerland. Conversely, politicians and other political actors have recognized the potential of online platforms and are increasingly utilizing them for campaigning. This in turn may facilitate the search for information on social media. The literature indicates that online campaigning operates under different rules than offline campaigning. However, there is limited knowledge of how citizens use social media to inform themselves about proposals and how this impacts their ability to translate their preferences into coherent voting decisions. Additionally, there is a lack of literature on whether and how citizens perceive online campaigns. I argue that there are two potential effects on information levels. On one hand, individuals can conveniently access news on the go without having to set aside specific time which may enhance information levels. On the other hand, this incidental exposure may result in lower information levels as individuals may simply follow the cues of their preferred politicians. To investigate this issue, we utilize original post-ballot individual-level survey data from Switzerland. The survey was conducted between June 19 and August 15, 2023, following the national ballot on June 18, 2023. After filtering for participation in the national ballot, we obtained 1518 observations. Our analysis aims to determine whether citizens who frequently obtain information from social media are less likely to vote coherently in direct democratic votes. Given the increasing importance of digital tools for direct democracy, it is crucial to understand their implications.