Internet and social media played a key role in the Danish election 2015
Danes turn to the web and social media for information about the candidates and test their own political views online, shows a new report with figures from the general election in 2015.
Researchdemocracysocial mediaSander SchwartzEvents
Written 5 September, 2016 10:14 by Vibeke Arildsen
A new study explores the internet's role in the Danish general election campaign and shows – perhaps unsurprisingly - that the internet has become increasingly important as a source of political information. The study is authored by Professor Jens Hoff (University of Copenhagen), Head of Research Jakob Linaa Jensen (Danish School of Media and Journalism) and Associate Professor Lisbeth Klastrup (IT University of Copenhagen) in collaboration with the Association of Danish Media and is based on a survey on the general election in 2015 with 3,590 respondents.
Popular election quizzes
No fewer than 88 percent of the respondents used the internet to seek political information in connection with the election, while 61 percent had seen political content on social media (indicated as "Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, YouTube, etc.").
I think it's interesting that our survey shows that 10 percent of those who have taken a test have followed a recommended candidate on social media afterwards. One might ask whether this will have a bearing on which candidate people end up voting for.
Lisbeth Klastrup, Associate Professor at ITU.
Online quizzes and tests have become particularly popular - 60 percent of the respondents had tested their political position in an online quiz or test.
These tests have a significant potential when it comes to influencing people’s choice of candidates, says Lisbeth Klastrup.
- I think it's interesting that our survey shows that 10 percent of those who have taken a test have followed a recommended candidate on social media afterwards. One might ask whether this will have a bearing on which candidate people end up voting for.
Passive information seekers
The study also presents the same trend as in previous elections: that far more people "passively" seek political information in connection with the election than actively participate in the election online (for instance by participating in discussions or posting their own content).
It is the third survey in a row that looks at Danes’ use of the internet in connection with a general election, which means that researchers now have an interesting and unique study of how the use of the internet has evolved since 2007.
The results of the study are summarized in a new report - download it here (in Danish).
Lisbeth Klastrup, Associate Professor, phone 7218 5029, email klastrup@itu.dk
Vibeke Arildsen, Press Officer, phone 2555 0447, email viar@itu.dk