Voters using more cell phones and social media for information

According to a new report from the Pew Research Internet Project, “Cell phones and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are playing an increasingly prominent role in how voters get political information and follow election news.”

The numbers have changed significantly since four years ago. As Cell Phones, Social Media and Campaign 2014 said:

“The proportion of Americans who use their cell phones to track political news or campaign coverage has doubled compared with the most recent midterm election: 28% of registered voters have used their cell phone in this way during the 2014 campaign, up from 13% in 2010.”

Not surprisingly, this change has occurred more among the young than in older Americans. Also, the more engaged the citizen, the more likely are the changes. Now, one-quarter of registered voters get political news on cell phones. And the move is bipartisan. Adherents of both parties “are equally likely to use their phones to keep up with election news, as 25% of Republicans and 29% of Democrats report doing so this campaign season.”

However, while the medium is changing, it’s not at all clear that moving to cell phones and social media is changing anyone’s political views. Which may be why candidates and issues in the 2014 election spent some $4 billion, mostly on television and other traditional communications.

Cell Phones, Social Media and Campaign 2014 (Pew Internet Project, Nov. 3, 2014)

Poll: Voters increasingly following politics on phones, social media (The Hill, Nov. 3, 2014)