2025/01/01 by Per Oleskog Tryggvason, Adam Shehata, Judith Möller · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Social Media and Politics #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Media Studies and Communication
paper · doi:10.1093/poq/nfae065
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/23
Abstract Claims concerning media fragmentation and political polarization permeate discussions about our changing democratic public sphere. As traditional mass media lose ground and people increasingly construct their own personal information environments, citizens may develop highly contrasting perceptions of politics and society—potentially undermining the common ground needed for rational public discourse. Two widely discussed expressions of these developments are the fragmentation and polarization of the public agenda. At the same time, these concerns largely originate from developments in the United States. Whether polarization and fragmentation of the public agenda also characterize other Western democracies with less fragmented media systems remains unclear. This study therefore analyzes longitudinal survey data from Sweden. Covering a period of thirty-five years (1987–2021), the findings reveal that (1) the public agenda has indeed fragmented and diversified over time, (2) citizens not interested in politics are increasingly dropping out from the shared public agenda, but (3) public service media counter this dropout trend, and (4) for a number of issues, the public agenda has become more polarized along ideological lines.