political use of the internet: hope or hype?
TRANSCRIPT
Internet: Hope or Hype? Jan Sládek, M.A.
Department of Sociology
Charles University in Prague
The Czech Republic
5 facts about czech current political life in CR
(1) Depolitization
(2) Fragmentarization
(3) Individual strategies preferred to collective
(4) Ngoisation
(5) Withou connection to idelogy, mainly on the local level
Data collected in May and June 2014 by a specialized agency
Method of data collection ◦ CAPI F2F interviews◦ Stratified random sampling combined with quota sampling ◦ Measures taken to include parts of the population with lower
probability of being interviewed
1316 respondents in the final sample Weighted sample representative for the population of the Czech Republic, age 15+
Internet and politics in general Voting activity
◦ Frequent elections (2010, 2012, 2013x2, 2014x2)◦ Declining participation, yet municipal rather high◦ No. 1 reson for non-voting: Disinterest in politics
(45% of nonvoters), no. 2: Not know who to vote (17%)
¼ states that an active politician is amongst their close relatives or friends, ½ discusses politics
Internet and local politics
1/3 never looked for local info, 1/3 does so rarely, 1/3 regurarly on weekly basis
87% never used the ICT to contact local politicians (x direct democracy)
15 Interviews in Prague 1
NGOs, locals, political parties
From 20 to 55+
- Internet seen as an easy way to communicate
- No online campaigning
- Not used for networking
- Rarely FB groups
- Online petitions