Previous research has found that digital media use is related to some political attitudes. On the one hand, people with higher levels of interest in politics and certain political values may be more likely to use the Internet as a source of political information, a way to express political views o a means to interact with other people with similar interests. On the other hand, certain uses of the Internet may help to develop political engagement orientations. Whether the relationship goes from political attitudes to internet use, or from internet use to political attitudes, the truth is that both variables are related. However, this relationship between digital media use and engaged political orientations may not be equally present everywhere. Contextual characteristics are likely to condition the extent to which digital media use is related to attitudes. Systematic comparative analysis of this relationship is still scarce, but we expect political contexts to condition the individual level relationship between the Internet use and attitudes of political engagement. This paper analyses the effects of the economic and political context on the relationship between the use of Internet and political attitudes using data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) for 22 different countries with a broad variation of political and economic circumstances. The paper first analyses the relationship between internet use and political engagement in the 22 countries. Then it moves to a more explanatory perspective by including in the analysis contextual variables that may account for cross-country variations in this relationship. The hypotheses are tested using multilevel analysis.
