Internet Raises Stakes For Candidates In Election '08
The Internet is playing a major role in the current presidential campaign, both as a source of information for voters, as a means of communication between voters and political organizations, and among voters themselves, according to a new report by The Pew Research Center For The People & The Press. A majority of voters (59 percent) say they have sought out election content online or had some type of online communication about the campaign, the center said Thursday. Younger voters and Democrats are outpacing older voters and Republicans in using the Web for campaign information and activities.
The use of online video has exploded, and significant numbers of voters have visited candidate Web sites and read blogs about the campaign, the report stated. However, use of social networking sites – such as MySpace or Facebook – for campaign information has not grown much since early in the campaign season. Last December, just 18 percent of voters said they had exchanged emails about the campaign with friends or family; now 37 percent have done so. About a quarter of voters (26 percent) now say they have received an email from one of the political campaigns or from a political group or organization, up from 17 percent in December.
According to the report, the proportion of voters who have gone online to view videos about the campaign has increased substantially during the election season. Overall, 39 percent of voters say they have watched some type of campaign-related video online. In December, 24 percent had done so. There has been an increase in viewing of all types of campaign videos, including candidate speeches (28 percent now, up from 14 percent), interviews (27 percent, up from 14 percent), campaign ads (21 percent, up from 12 percent), and candidate debates (23 percent now, 12 percent in December). Read more about the study here.
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