Democratic Divide Revised: Ethnic Differences in Media Use, Political Knowledge, and Civic/Political Participation

• In Event: ICA Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Interactive Poster Session: Ethnicity and Race in Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Most digital divide studies that include race or ethnicity in their analysis compare two groups, such as the majority versus one minority, or group all minorities together. This study is among the first to compare three different ethnic groups in their political knowledge, and four types of online and offline participation. ANOVA results reveal that each ethnic group does better than others in a different kind of engagement. Multiple regression models show that older, male, and richer individuals have a higher level of political knowledge. The ethnic majority has a higher level of online-civic participation, and men are more likely than women to be involved in online-political participation. Therefore, both a digital divide and democratic divide still exist today.

Authors

• Tien-Tsung Lee, University of Kansas

• Yuki Fujioka, Georgia State U