How Active and Passive Social Media Engagement on Facebook and Instagram Shapes Democratic Attitudes Among Users in Slovakia

Abstract Social media play an important role in the dissemination of political information and in political dialogue among agents, agencies and citizens. We study the effects of social media on democratic attitudes. Our analysis proceeds in two phases. First, we examine the effect of using eight social media platforms on support for democracy and liberal democratic principles. Second, we test the relationships between the intensity of six types of online political engagement on Facebook and Instagram and democratic attitudes. We employ linear and ordinal logistic regression analysis on a representative sample of 1,502 Slovak citizens aged 18 and older. We report three key findings: First, users of social media are not less supportive of democracy or liberal democratic principles. Second, passive political engagement on Facebook undermines support for liberal democratic principles. Third, active political engagement on both Facebook and Instagram is related to higher support for democracy as a regime but not for its liberal principles. In addition to the results on the effects of specific participatory activities, our study contributes by highlighting the need to differentiate between various types of democratic attitudes, different types of participation and different types of social media.