Social media might not be to blame for CanadiansB次元官网网址� ideological polarization, a new report on digital democracy in Canada finds.

The latest findings are from an ongoing effort led by the Public Policy Forum and McGill UniversityB次元官网网址檚 Max Bell School of Public Policy called the Digital Democracy Project.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of people donB次元官网网址檛 use social media very actively,B次元官网网址� said reseracher Eric Merkley. B次元官网网址淧eople on Twitter are not representative of the broader population.B次元官网网址�

Instead, the study argues polarization in Canada arises partly from intense party loyalty and how far apart CanadaB次元官网网址檚 political parties are, meaning party positions are an important factor.

Also, researchers found that people did not appear to make meaningful distinctions in their views between politicians from opposing parties and their supporters.

B次元官网网址淭his is troubling,B次元官网网址� the study says, because it suggests B次元官网网址減olarization does not just influence peopleB次元官网网址檚 opinions about the parties, but also how they view ordinary Canadians.B次元官网网址� Each other, in other words.

Researchers found evidence that Canadians are B次元官网网址渁ffectively polarizedB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� they feel negatively towards other people simply for being part of the opposing group.

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That was based on three measures, including the levels of warmth participants in the study feel for their ideological comrades and opponents; how much they associate their allies and opponents with positive and negative traits; and how comfortable they feel with having someone from an opposing ideology as a neighbour, friend or relative.

B次元官网网址淧artisans have substantially colder and more negative feelings about ideologically opposed parties, compared to those that are ideologically proximate,B次元官网网址� and also see opposed parties as B次元官网网址渕ore socially distant,B次元官网网址� the study says.

The study goes on to note that though Canadians do seem to be polarized, itB次元官网网址檚 probably not our use of social media that is causing the divide.

Based on an analysis of the activity of about 50,000 Twitter accounts, the Digital Democracy Project researchers found evidence supporting the theory that users tend to create B次元官网网址渇ilter bubblesB次元官网网址� for themselves. Very few partisans, it found, follow information sources from other parties.

But the study suggests the echo chambers do not extend far beyond Twitter.

By comparing the Twitter data to information gleaned from the survey, researchers also found just 16 per cent of Canadians are exposed to strongly partisan news sources. A tiny fraction B次元官网网址� fewer than one per cent B次元官网网址� get more than half their news from B次元官网网址減artisan-congenialB次元官网网址� outlets.

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Most Canadians still engage broadly with mainstream news sources, the study suggests.

If media consumption is not to blame for polarization, the answer the study offers instead is that B次元官网网址渢he biggest driver of polarization seems to be ideology and partisanship themselves.B次元官网网址�

Strong partisans have much more intense feelings towards opposing parties than weak partisans, the study finds.

Christian Paas-Lang, The Canadian Press

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