Much time has been spent over the past decade debating whether social media contribute to democracy. Drawing on an original study of internet users across nine Western democracies, Outside the Bubble offers an unprecedented look at the effects of social media on democratic participation. This book argues that social media do indeed increase political participation in both online and face-to-face activities--and that they expand political equality across Western democracies. In fact, Cristian Vaccari and Augusto Valeriani find that, for the most part, social media do not constitute echo chambers or filter bubbles as most users see a mixture of political content they agree and disagree with. Various political experiences on social media have positive implications for participation and active political involvement: social media allow citizens to encounter clearly identifiable political viewpoints, facilitate accidental exposure to political news, and enable political actors and ordinary citizens to reach voters with electoral messages designed to mobilize them. Moreover, political interactions occurring on social media do not only benefit citizens who are already involved, but boost participation across the board. This is because social media offer both additional participatory incentives to the already engaged and new political opportunities for the less engaged. By adopting a comparative approach, Vaccari and Valeriani also show that political institutions matter since some political experiences on social media are more strongly associated with participation in majoritarian systems and in party-centric systems. While social media may contribute to many societal problems, they can help address at least two important democratic ills: citizens' apathy towards politics, and inequalities between those who choose to exercise their voice and those who remain silent.

About the Author
Cristian Vaccari is Professor of Political Communication and Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture at Loughborough University. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The International Journal of Press/Politics and a past Chair of the Information Technology & Politics section of the American Political Science Association. He is also a rapporteur of the Committee of Experts on Freedom of Expression and Digital Technologies of the Council of Europe. He studies political communication by elites and citizens in comparative perspective, with a particular focus on digital and social media. Augusto Valeriani is Associate Professor in Sociology of Culture and Communication at the Political and Social Sciences Department of the University of Bologna and Director of the Master Program in Digital Marketing and Communication at Bologna Business School (BBS). His research focuses on political communication, digital media, and journalism studies. He has authored articles published in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication; New Media and Society; International Journal of Press/Politics; Information, Communication and Society; Current Sociology; European Journal of Communication; Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication; and Sage Open.

Reviews
Combined with cataloging the fallacies that undergird most research about social media and political participation, this book illustrates the many ways people use social media and the still--manifesting implications of those uses. * C. Barker, Bradley University, CHOICE *
Vaccari and Valeriani move beyond the mass media era variables that persist in the literature on political participation, employing concepts and measures appropriate to the digital media era. In this insightful book, they also dispense with one of the least helpful digital era ideas, the 'echo chamber.' They offer comprehensive data about behavior informed by a theoretically rich understanding of institutions, party systems, and mass media. This is a fantastic addition to our understanding of contemporary political behavior. * Bruce Bimber, University of California, Santa Barbara *
The definitive book on social media and political participation. In their comprehensive and accessible book, Vaccari and Valeriani provide needed context, nuance, and richness to the questions of who is politically mobilized by social media, how are they mobilized, and under what circumstances. A welcome addition to any bookshelf. * Leticia Bode, Georgetown University *
Using nine-country survey data, Vaccari and Valeriani tackle the big questions about social media and democracy. Are there echo chambers among social media users? What are the impacts of accidental or incidental exposure on patterns of citizen's participation? What do these findings mean for election campaigns? This book is a must read for those interested in evidence-based discussions about the role of social media in democracy. * Shelley Boulianne, MacEwan University *
This book offers a rich and remarkable analysis of how social media intersect with political participation. By highlighting diverging dynamics across nine Western democracies, the authors force us to reconsider common but simplistic assumptions: that social media create echo chambers and filter bubbles, poison political debate and democratic engagement, and enable the rise of populist and illiberal demagogues. Instead, reality is considerably more complex, and all the more interesting for it-much like this book. * Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology *
Do the affordances of social media facilitate political participation and if so, for what types of citizens and in what contexts? Drawing on original surveys from nine diverse Western democracies, Vaccari and Valeriani provide theory driven and empirically supported answers to these questions. Their findings are important, compelling, and reason for hope. * Michael X. Delli Carpini, University of Pennsylvania *


Awards
Winner of Winner, 2022 Best Book Award, Information Technology and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.



Book Information
ISBN 9780190858483
Author Cristian Vaccari
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 440g
Dimensions(mm) 159mm * 236mm * 21mm