Abstract

Concerns about housing affordability in Australian capital cities have captured the public and political imagination. How, then, do ordinary citizens discuss the causes of and solutions to the increasing unaffordability of housing? This article examines evidence that branded Facebook channels provide a space for citizens to engage in everyday engagement and interaction on housing issues. We argue that studying branded, public Facebook pages, despite data access limitations, is an important way of tapping into broad citizen sentiment and understanding media influence on topical issues. We also find that different ways of framing housing affordability within news reporting are associated with different patterns of citizen engagement and interaction on Facebook. In particular, generational frames (critically linking housing affordability to either older people’s entrenched economic advantage or young people’s inability to save) are associated with high levels of user engagement, but the lowest level of discussion about policy solutions within dominant comment threads.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.