The use of digital social networks from an analytical sociology perspective: The case of Spain

José Manuel Robles, Cristóbal Torres-Albero, Mirko Antino and Stefano De Marco
Additional contact information
José Manuel Robles: Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Cristóbal Torres-Albero: Autónoma University of Madrid, Spain
Mirko Antino: ISCTE Lisbon, Portugal; Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Stefano De Marco: Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

Rationality and Society, 2015, vol. 27, issue 4, 492-512

Abstract: Digital social networks have attracted the attention of a growing number of specialists. The use of digital tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to express socio-political demands or to perform protest actions has become a central issue for social science today. However, few studies analyse the factors behind this phenomenon using explanatory models based on analytical sociology and rational action. In this article, we take steps in this direction and study the socio-political use of social networks based on a methodological individualism model. Through an analysis of structural equations, we analyse how the individual and social factors involved in the use of the social networks to ‘do’ politics relate to one another. We conclude that attitudes towards the political possibilities of the Internet constitute an essential factor for this kind of political action.

Keywords: Analytical sociology; digital political participation; digital social networks; social mechanisms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1043463115605480 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:27:y:2015:i:4:p:492-512

DOI: 10.1177/1043463115605480

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Rationality and Society
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().