The next working group meeting on Digital Activities will take place on Tuesday, October 14 from 5.30pm to 7pm
Speaker: Rafael Jiménez Durán - Bocconi University
Paper: Digital News Consumption: Evidence from Smartphone Content in the 2024 US Election
Abstract: Smartphones, personalized from applications to notifications, are now a dominant source of political information, yet little is known about the content people consume on them. We provide the first systematic analysis of the magnitude and drivers of election-related smartphone consumption, using novel data on the content people observed on their phones during the 2024 U.S. election campaign. Despite a highly contentious campaign, the median American consumed limited election content on their phones, and consumption remained stable over time. Consumption primarily came from applications with personalized content (social media and music & videos apps), with less than 10% from dedicated news applications. To understand the drivers of this pattern, we examine heterogeneity across both applications and individuals. We find that across applications, individuals consumed more election content on X and Reddit than on Facebook or Instagram. Across individuals, consumption was positively skewed, with higher consumption among swing-state residents, news app users, and even fans of a non-political figure (Taylor Swift) following her endorsement. Using a variance decomposition exercise, we find that differences across individuals, rather than differences between the applications they use, drive the observed heterogeneity. These findings suggest that policies altering voter incentives to consume news -- rather than regulating platform algorithms -- may be more effective for increasing political engagement.
Relevant information:
- Here the Microsoft Teams link. The session will cover 90 minutes (questions and answers included).
- The working group is part of the activities of the Governance and Regulation Chair at Paris Dauphine-PSL University. The group meets once in two weeks to discuss, share, and present working papers and/or ideas surrounding recent developments in the domain of platform regulation. We have both internal and external presenters to share their work.
- If you would like to present your work or have anyone in mind to present, please send an email to lucas.eustache@dauphine.psl.eu.
