Online Media Bias and Political Participation in EU Member States; Cross-National Perspectives

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the complex relationship between online media consumption, the quality of the digital landscape, and participatory democracy in EU member states. The research is focused on a long-term statistical series from 2000 to 2024. It evaluates the temporal dynamics and structural shifts in media consumption and democratic participation across EU member states. The paper evaluates the influence of social media usage, online media consumption, traditional media, and online media partisanship on different levels of democratic participation based on theoretical frameworks of liberal and deliberative democracy and networked political communication. The results show that the use of social media for offline political networks is positively associated with democratic participation across all quantiles. In contrast, online media consumption has a more pronounced impact among already active citizens. Online media bias is negatively correlated with participatory democracy, especially at high levels, suggesting that media partisanship could inhibit or demotivate civic participation. Traditional media, when consumed critically, remains an important vector of democratic engagement, especially for active citizens. The results exhibit the ambivalent role played by online media, which might stimulate or constrain democratic participation by the level of partisanship.