Electrons and Elections: a national opinion survey
on the role of Cyberspace and mass media in political opinion
formation during the 1996 general election

James Katz

A B S T R A C T

Americans shortly after the 1996 national elections explored
differences between users of the Internet and non -users
relative to sources of impacts of politically relevant information.
The telephone-based inquiry explored both groups in terms of their
use of various mass media as well as, in the case of Internet users,
their utilization of the Internet and related technologies.
Specifically, the survey asked about use of TV, newspaper, magazine
and radio sources. The respondents were also queried about their
initiation or participation in political communication, such as phone
calls, letters to officials, and involvement with campaign events.
In addition, those who had access to the Internet and related
technologies were asked about any political activities that they
might have undertaken in that venue.The results show that cyberspace
is indeed an important arena for political discourse.
While those who reported changing their position due to
cyberspace-based information and dialogue were
relatively few, the proportions are comparable to traditional mass
media. Consequently it is likely that cyberspace will be an
increasingly important, and contested, sphere. AT the same time,
problems of, and policy remedies for, a growing "digital divide"
between their information rich and poor become more urgent.