Abstract
This article analyzes the process of symbolic and critical-discursive construction of applications developed for mobile devices for some of the world’s most important heads of state through their manifestation in the ecosystem of mobile applications for iOS and Android. The sample includes 233 applications of 45 politicians from 37 countries. A content analysis-based method was applied to the discourse of these apps and users’ comments. The results reveal the dominant discourses in this scenario and identify the characteristics that influence their popularity, the influence of viral content and their reception in the connection between the mobile ecosystem and the political sphere. The discourse on the apps reveals a commercial interest and the existence of a diffuse diffusion of political commitment in terms of entertainment, parody and virality.
Highlights
IntroductionThe emergence of interactive and networked technologies is democratizing the construction and perception of social knowledge, the power structures in daily life, and civic and political engagement (Glas et al 2019)
The emergence of interactive and networked technologies is democratizing the construction and perception of social knowledge, the power structures in daily life, and civic and political engagement (Glas et al 2019). Seemingly innocuous content such as games about personalities from the political sphere for mobile devices can lead citizens to cross the fine line that today separates full political personalization from indiscriminate government spectacle that is not limited to strategic vote-catching (Berrocal 2003; Balmas and Sheafer 2013; Segado-Boj et al 2015; López-Meri et al 2020; Zamora Medina et al 2021)
This study aims to explore the characteristics of mobile device app use in political discourse, both in terms of the features of leaders who manifest most and the ways in which app users receive this content
Summary
The emergence of interactive and networked technologies is democratizing the construction and perception of social knowledge, the power structures in daily life, and civic and political engagement (Glas et al 2019) In this way, seemingly innocuous content such as games about personalities from the political sphere for mobile devices can lead citizens to cross the fine line that today separates full political personalization from indiscriminate government spectacle that is not limited to strategic vote-catching (Berrocal 2003; Balmas and Sheafer 2013; Segado-Boj et al 2015; López-Meri et al 2020; Zamora Medina et al 2021). It is assumed that while political information is ubiquitous on the internet, people under the age of 25 are not interested in it because of the traditional framework on which it is built In this context, it seems possible that applications that focus on entertainment may solve part of the above problem. Researcher Tamara Small points out the risk of assuming that young people will be attracted to content because it is published in a familiar and accessible interface (Scherer 2016)
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