Analysing ‘Super-Participation’ in Online Third Spaces

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been much debate concerning the Internet’s ability to facilitate and support public deliberation and extend the public sphere (cf. Gimmler 2001; Papacharissi 2002; Dahlgren 2005; Coleman and Blumler 2009). The belief that the Internet may play a significant role in reducing some of the deliberative deficit of Western democracies has sparked much interest in the potential benefits and drawbacks of online communication. Following the initial euphoria over the possibility of a ‘new’ Internet-based public sphere, along with its critical response, a growing body of innovative empirical research into online deliberation has emerged in its wake. Scholars have been interested in how citizens use the Internet to express themselves, not only during election time, but also how it is used for political purposes in citizens’ everyday lives. In particular, there is growing research focusing on online, everyday political talk.