2015/12/01 by Todd Graham, Daniel Jackson, Scott Wright · 3 citations
Social Sciences · #Digital Games and Media #Gender, Feminism, and Media #Social Media and Politics
paper · doi:10.1177/0267323115595529
openalex publication_date 2015/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Taking forward a new agenda for online political deliberation – the study of everyday political talk in non-political, online ‘third spaces’ – this article examines the dynamics of political talk across three general interest UK-based online forums. The quantitative analysis found that discussions about austerity were just as likely to emerge from non-political discussions as they were ones that began as ‘political’, demonstrating the links people made between everyday experiences and public policy. Our qualitative analysis represents the first real attempt to analyse political actions within third spaces, with some striking outcomes. Over half of all political discussions led to at least one political action (with significant variation between forums). The findings demonstrate that while such third spaces remain concerned with the preoccupations of everyday life, they can and do perform a role of mobilizing agent towards political participation.