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“Katrina Bloggers Activate!”: The Long‐Term Effects of Digital Media on Civic Participation
Author(s) -
Ostertag Stephen F.,
Ortiz David G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/soin.12060
Subject(s) - hurricane katrina , civic engagement , social media , sociology , digital media , media studies , field (mathematics) , public relations , affect (linguistics) , variety (cybernetics) , politics , political science , natural disaster , law , geography , computer science , mathematics , communication , artificial intelligence , meteorology , pure mathematics
There is a lively debate on the relationship between digital media and civic participation. Some scholars argue that digital media adversely affect civic participation, others that the effect of digital media on civic participation is negligible, and still others claim that digital media strengthens civic participation. Yet, most of this research is based on cross‐sectional methodologies, treats digital media as a uniform entity, and overlooks new civic formations that better resonate with current social and technological environments. We address these criticisms with a retrospective case study of blogging in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Through in‐depth interviews, supplemental survey data, analysis of blog posts, and field notes, we show how a number of New Orleans’ residents used blogs to organize and take part in a variety of civic actions in the months and years after hurricane Katrina. We discuss the implications of these findings for current debates on the relationship between digital media and civic participation.