Through the Grapevine: Socially Transmitted Information and Distorted Democracy - Couverture souple

Carlson, Taylor N.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0226834174 ISBN 13 : 9780226834177

Editeur : University of Chicago Press, 2024

Synopsis

An enlightening examination of what it means when Americans rely on family and friends to stay on top of politics.

Accurate information is at the heart of democratic functioning. For decades, researchers interested in how information is disseminated have focused on mass media, but the reality is that many Americans today do not learn about politics from direct engagement with the news. Rather, about one-third of Americans learn chiefly from information shared by their peers in conversation or on social media. How does this socially transmitted information differ from that communicated by traditional media? What are the consequences for political attitudes and behavior?

Drawing on evidence from experiments, surveys, and social media, Taylor N. Carlson finds that, as information flows first from the media then person to person, it becomes sparse, more biased, less accurate, and more mobilizing. The result is what Carlson calls distorted democracy. Although socially transmitted information does not necessarily render democracy dysfunctional, Through the Grapevine shows how it contributes to a public that is at once underinformed, polarized, and engaged.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Taylor N. Carlson is associate professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis. Her previous books include Talking Politics and What Goes Without Saying.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: University of Chicago Press
• Date d'édition: 2024
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0226834174
• ISBN 13: 9780226834177
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 217
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible