Marco Dohle & Gerhard
1
Vowe
THE PERCEPTION OF ONLINE MEDIA’S RELEVANCE
IN THE CONTEXT OF ELECTIONS
Research questions
Which political influences are implied to which online media in comparison to traditional media? How do participants estimate the political
influence of online media on themselves and on others?
Theoretical approach: Third-person perceptions, political communication, and online media
The third-person effect is one of the most popular theories in recent communication research (Bryant & Miron, 2004). According to its perceptual
component, people tend to believe that other people are more influenced by media than themselves (third-person perception) (Davison, 1983).
One important field of research on third-person effects is political communication. Lots of studies – for example in the context of elections (e.g.,
Rössler 2009) – have documented third-person perceptions. These studies focused on presumed influences of traditional media.
However, online media have notable characteristics regarding presumed political influences. To name but a few: (1) Users get direct information
about the thoughts and attitudes of other users; (2) the online audience seems to be very active; (3) (people know that) some online media still have a
small audience compared to traditional media; (4) (people know that) online media have a comparatively young audience.
This leads to various assumptions regarding perceptions of online media’s influences which were tested. Selected results will be presented.
Methods and data
Results: Online media vs. traditional media
The study was realized in the context of the state parliamentary election in North Rhine-Westphalia 2010.
An online survey brought about a total of 875 valid cases (212
politicians, 74 journalists, 589 other people).
• Respondents believed themselves to be less susceptible by traditional
media than second persons and second persons as less susceptible than
third persons (p < .001;  third-person perception).
Participants had to assess the political influence of traditional media and online media on themselves, on the
anonymous general public (third persons) and on other groups.
• Respondents believed themselves to be more influenceable by online
media than second persons (p < .001) and as equally influenceable
compared with third persons ( no third-person perception).
Results: Different online media
• Respondents assume different political influences of different
online media on third persons.
• These different perceptions of influence match the perceived
reach of most online media quite well.
• People assume that online media have (a) a larger influence on themselves but (b) a smaller influence on second persons, third persons,
journalists, and politicians than traditional media (p < .001).
• Young people are seen as more politically influenced by online media
than other persons (p < .001) and as more influenced by online media
compared to traditional media (p < .001).
Discussion
The results show that it is necessary to differentiate between presumed influences of traditional and online media (and additionally between
different online media). Future research will have to analyze in-depth the relevance of online media’s characteristics regarding presumed political
influences. Moreover, future research will have to explore the consequences of these presumed online influences on attitudes and behavior.
Marco Dohle & Gerhard Vowe
Department of Communication and Media Studies
Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Germany
 [email protected]
1
GOR 11,
Düsseldorf 2011