Imagined Democratic Affordances
Persistent Faith in the Democratic Power of the Internet among Sanders Supporters on Reddit
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3000823 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Omri Cohen (0000-0001-9878-3186, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Media + Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2056-3051 • E-ISSN: 2056-3051 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/20563051251363213 |
| OpenAlex | W4414033730 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 53 |
Research on digital democracy and online mobilization often focus on how technological design, affordances, organizing, or policy may influence online political behaviors. Less attention is paid to users' imagination about their digital environments, the expectations, emotions, or values that are involved, and how these relate to users' perceptions on the democratic opportunities afforded by digital media. This study conducts qualitative analysis of the perceptions of Bernie Sanders supporters on a large Reddit community of both digital media and mainstream media. The findings suggest that some users, who regard themselves as democratically populist, tend to regard digital media optimistically and display persistent faith in the democratizing capacity of online platforms. This study provides a deeper understanding of the power of users' imagination and elucidates issues of the persistence of technological optimism, the appeal and motivational power of the democratic promise of the internet, and users' association of democratic ideals with online activism
Affordance · Cognitive psychology · Democracy · Faith · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · The Internet · Theology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Media and Politics
The populist persuasion
Affective Publics
The Myth of Digital Democracy
Participatory Culture, Community, and Play
Designing Qualitative Research
Vice Epistemology
Fake news and ideological polarization
Collective Action on the Web
Affective publics and structures of storytelling
Social Media and the Decision to Participate in Political Protest
Making Sense of Making Sense
Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies
Network Propaganda
Imaginary politics
Can "slacktivism" work? Perceived power differences moderate the relationship between social media activism and collective action intentions through positive affect
Internet News
Being safe from what and safe for whom? A critical discussion of the conceptual metaphor of ‘safe space’
Rethinking the digital democratic affordance and its impact on political representation
Re-constructing digital democracy
Liberation Technology’ or ‘Net Delusion’? Civic Activists’ Perceptions of Social Media as a Platform for Civic Activism in Belarus and Ukraine
Populism and media policy failure
The Mizrahi Pillar of Fire
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Democracy online
What Is Populism
Unpacking the democratic affordances of CrowdLaw concept and practice
Practices of Transformative Populism
Trust the People! Populism and the Two Faces of Democracy
How Social Media Facilitates Political Protest
Corrupting the Cyber-Commons
The Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy
Can Democracy Survive the Internet
Authoritarian states and internet social media
The myth of 'us
The Logic of Connective Action
Social media and populism
Populism's Power
Imagined Democratic Affordances
Tiny Donations, Big Impact
Undoing the Demos
Digital Media and the Entrenchment of Right-Wing Populist Agendas
Imagined Affordance
Techniques to Identify Themes
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |