The Personality Divide

Personality traits are considered efficient predictors of off-line political participation. However, the effects of personality traits on online political engagement have been largely understudied. The main goal of this cross-sectional research (N = 1,134, sample of young adults) was to investigate the relationships between personality traits, as measured by the Big Five Inventory, and online political engagement. As dependent variables, we took three dimensions of online political engagement: e-targeted, e-expressive, and e-news. A latent variables structural equation model showed that personality traits directly and indirectly predict modes of online political engagement via the mediation of political attitudes and the proneness to use Internet. On the whole, we found that people open to experience and extraverts take part in online political actions, whereas agreeable and conscientious people tend to avoid them. The findings provide insights on the differences between traditional form (i.e., off-line) and the new online modes of political engagement by showing that, to some extent, the latter appeal to different personality profiles. In sum, online engagement seems to be marked by a personality divide.

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