Digital democracy and political participation through Facebook: Portuguese legislative elections in 2015

Abstract

In a time when new technologies are being used every day, it is natural that they are becoming instruments of political communication. In fact, since the 1990s, new digital devices have been used by political parties for their benefit. Based on this current reality, it was important to study the importance of the Internet for communication and political participation, especially during the electoral campaign for the 2015 Legislative Elections in Portugal. This exploratory study shows that, in fact, the electorate is aware of the importance of the Internet, especially of social networks as facilitating instruments for political participation. However, while it is common to speak of digital democracy, more than half of the respondents did not follow the 2015 election campaign through the tools and platforms provided on Internet by the political parties.