Impacts of digital inequality on civic and political participation

This study aims to study how the Internet influences civic and political participation. It is hypothesised that greater Internet use would lead to more participation. Hypotheses are developed according to the Civic Voluntarism Model and the theories of Internet effects. The results thus far show that the Internet is significant in increasing online participation. There is no evidence that the Internet may directly help facilitate offline participation. Internet use indirectly increases offline participation through interpersonal mobilisation that is positively related to external efficacy, online information sharing among friends and telephone conversations. Political interest, political efficacy, interpersonal mobilisation and organisational affiliation are found to be important predictors of different modes of offline participation. There is a tendency of the Internet allowing the Internet users to be politically involved on the Internet. The online and offline modes of participation are therefore respectively explained by two different sets of antecedents. The implications of the results suggest that the Internet political effect should be attributed to Internet-specific determinants instead of mechanically employing those factors that explain traditional forms of political participation. The Internet has certainly provided a new and interactive information channel to complement other media for participants.