Does Institutional Setting Affect Legislators’ Use of Twitter?

Abstract

This study investigates whether members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and members of national parliaments (MNPs) use social media in distinctive ways. Specifically, it examines whether institutional differences affect the frequency, quality, and nature of legislators’ Twitter communications. Controlling for factors that previous studies find significant, we select for two kinds of legislators: (i) MEPs who are serving in the 2014–19 term and who served as MNPs immediately before their election to the EP and (ii) MEPs who served in the 2009–14 term and have subsequently become MNPs. We compare selected legislators’ tweets over a three‐month period during their EP tenures with their Twitter behaviors over an analogous period during their NP tenures. The statistical results demonstrate few significant differences between MEPs and MNPs. A preliminary qualitative probe suggests that legislators’ tweet patterns may owe less to the institution they serve and more to their policy responsibilities and leadership positions within particular institutions.