Why Tweeting About Politics? Influencing Factors on Twitter Use by Members of the German Bundestag

• In Event: Politicians Online: Antecedents and Effects

Abstract

Social media such as Twitter evoke great expectations concerning deliberation and political communication in general. Interestingly little is known about the politicians who follow these expectations and adopt the microblogging service in Germany. This study aims at determining influencing factors on the Twitter adoption of Members of the 17th German Bundestag (parliament) as well as at explaining their level of activity. Therefore we conducted an analysis of meta-information about MPs. Our results indicate that a politicians’ adoption of Twitter can be predominantly explained by age, party affiliation, and the length of mandate. The level of activity of twittering MPs is mainly influenced by age, party affiliation, and offline activity.

Authors

• Christian Nuernbergk, LMU Munich

• Julia Neubarth, LMU Munich

• Melanie Rossmann, LMU Munich