Ideological Segregation Online and Offline

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gentzkow, Matthew; Shapiro, Jesse M.
• 署名单位: National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjr044
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 1799-1839
• 关键词: selective exposure; media bias; polarization; FRAGMENTATION; COMPETITION; television; MARKET

摘要

We use individual and aggregate data to ask how the Internet is changing the ideological segregation of the American electorate. Focusing on online news consumption, offline news consumption, and face-to-face social interactions, we define ideological segregation in each domain using standard indices from the literature on racial segregation. We find that ideological segregation of online news consumption is low in absolute terms, higher than the segregation of most offline news consumption, and significantly lower than the segregation of face-to-face interactions with neighbors, co-workers, or family members. We find no evidence that the Internet is becoming more segregated over time.