Good thread from @robfordmancs; I concur that social media might accentuate diffs in ideological conformity b/w the more vs less politically engaged, given that elites, activists, pundits, & the engaged in general are more likely on social media. (1/n)
https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1402965575584911363
In this vein, we know from work by Groenendyk et al (2020) that priming ideological norms can increase expression of ideologically-constrained opinions. We might very reasonably assume that the social networks of the engaged do a lot of this. (2/n) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
The "context collapse" feature of social media may worsen this, insofar as diff ideological subcultures' esoteric practices & views may become more visible to outsiders than they were in the past, amplifying perceived ideological differences. (3/n)
I would add that this might not only lead to (greater apparent) belief-system divergence b/w the engaged and less-engaged -- it might also lead to divergence in perceptions of what issues are important, what disputes are salient, and so on. (4/n)
Beyond that, it may worsen the tendency for elites & the very-engaged to speak about politics in different languages -- increasing the gulf b/w the former and large parts of the electorate. (5/n)
If the engaged vs less-engaged divide overlaps with other politically-significant divides (e.g., the education divide & cultural diffs aligned with that divide), this may intensify cultural conflict and open up space for those who wish to make populist appeals. (6/n)
BoJo (in the UK) seems to be exploiting this dynamic w/ some populist success; Trump did as well. From another corner, Biden's "old man who doesn't care what people are talking about on Twitter" approach seems to invoke this strategy too, though in a somewhat diff way. (7/7)
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