The Ideology of Internet Users as a Problem for Digital Political Representation: The Spanish Case

Abstract

Ideology is one of the classical concepts used in the analysis of the political behaviour of citizens. This paper considers this political concept applied specifically to the case of Internet users. The authors’ general aim is to look at the political behaviour of Internet users and improve their understanding of the evolution, possibilities and limitations of digital democracy. All have taken as their case study the ideology of Spanish Internet users. At first glance, the figures show a high representation of left-wing citizens among the general population of Internet users. The authors look into the reasons behind this and into its effect on representative digital political practices. Through an empirical study they that the ideological position of Spanish Internet users is, ultimately, the result of the Digital Divide that affects Internet usage in this country. In other words, the stronger presence of left-wing Internet users is the result of technological inequalities and constraints that affect a significant section of Spanish citizenry. To conclude the paper, they reflect on how this circumstance might affect political participation initiatives, especially representative participation initiatives.