Online Political Efficacy (OPE) as a Reliable Survey Measure of Political Empowerment When Using the Internet

Abstract

There is currently no consensus on whether Internet use and Political Efficacy (PE) are related. Here, I identify PE as a defective indicator of the relationship between Internet use and sense of PE when online. Instead, I demonstrate that Online Political Efficacy (OPE), a subset of PE, is a more reliable measure. I first review the relevant literature, highlighting the limitations of PE. Second, I define and operationalize OPE. Third, the validity of OPE is tested by examining how each of OPE and PE are associated with variables characteristic of Internet users by analyzing data from the World Internet Project Japan 2008 survey. The survey has four questions used to assess OPE and a correlation test indicates that these were consistent internally as well as externally. The test revealed that OPE and PE had differing associations with the variables that characterize Internet users, leading to the conclusion that PE is a misleading measure, and supporting the conclusion that OPE is a more accurate measure of how an individual feels politically empowered by using the Internet. Finally, a framework is provided for further studies of OPE.