The Impact of Smartphones on E-Participation

In the last years social media as well as mobile applications are of growing relevance for public political discussions and therefore for the approach of e-participation. However, studies show that there is still a low degree of involvement of politicians and citizens. Current research regularly focuses on how citizens can be enabled to more effectively share their ideas and opinions regarding political processes. However, the role of politicians themselves is rarely discussed within the academic discussion. In our study we attempt to better understand the impact of the growing diffusion of smartphones among politicians on e-participation. We conducted an online survey and asked members of the German federal parliament about their usage of mobile devices in order to interact with citizens. We show that smartphones lead to an increasing intensity of dialogue between politicians and citizens based on social media. Furthermore, we suggest that the level of e-participation grows by social media and mobile devices.