Watching Television and Civic Engagement

Abstract

In the debate on the alleged erosion of social cohesion in Western societies, some authors have stressed the negative role of television. Others have argued that some programs like news and current affairs programs could strengthen civic engagement and political participation. In this article, the author uses cross-sectional survey data in an effort to disentangle the possible causal mechanisms between television and political behavior and attitudes. No evidence is found for a time-replacement effect on the individual level, but robust relations are found between television and attitudinal components of social capital. While news programs are positively related with some of these attitudes, consistent negative relations are found with the time spent on television and a preference for entertainment programs and commercial stations. This could imply that commercial stations, especially, cultivate a less civic-minded value pattern among their viewers. The analysis demonstrates that television effects are dependent not only on the time people spend but also on the kind of programs they watch and (at least in countries with a public broadcasting system) on the station they tune in to.