Mobile instant messaging services and political participation: use and
perception of usefulness by citizens in Spain
Servicios móviles de mensajería instantánea y participación política: uso y
percepción de utilidad por parte de la ciudadanía en España
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| 115
January-June of 2025
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
Tirado García, A. and Casero-Ripollés, A. (2025). Mobile instant messaging services and political participation: use and perception of usefulness
by citizens in Spain.
Doxa Comunicación
, 40, pp. 115-130.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n40a2129
Alejandra Tirado García
. Postdoctoral fellow in Journalism at the Universitat Jaume I (Spain). She holds a PhD in
Communication Sciences, a degree in Journalism, and a Master’s degree in New Trends and Innovation Processes in
Communication from UJI. Her main lines of research focus on Journalism and political communication in the digital
era, analysing the roles of media, political parties, and citizens. She has participated in various national and international
conferences and has published several academic articles in scientic journals.
Universitat Jaume I, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0001-5947-7215
Andreu Casero-Ripollés
. Professor of Journalism at the Universitat Jaume I (Spain). He was the Dean of the Faculty of
Human and Social Sciences, Director of the Department of Communication Sciences, and Vice-Dean of the Journalism
Degree. Currently, he is the president of the Spanish Society of Journalism (SEP). His main lines of research focus on
digital political communication and the transformations of journalism in the digital age. He has directed 11 research
projects as the principal investigator and is ranked among the top 2% of most cited scientists worldwide in his discipline
on Scopus.
Universitat Jaume I, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0001-6986-4163
is content is published under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. International License CC BY-NC 4.0
Received: 30/10/2023 - Accepted: 31/05/2024 - Early access: 16/07/2024 - Published: 01/01/2025
Recibido: 30/10/2023 - Aceptado: 31/05/2024 - En edición: 16/07/2024 - Publicado: 01/01/2025
Abstract:
Mobile instant messaging services such as WhatsApp or Telegram have
enabled new possibilities for the reconguration of democracy. Despite
their popularisation, there is still limited research analysing the role of
citizenship on these digital platforms in relation to politics. erefore,
our objective is to analyse citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging
services for political activity and their perception of these platforms’
Resumen:
Los servicios móviles de mensajería instantánea como WhatsApp o Te
-
legram han abierto nuevas posibilidades para la reconguración de la
democracia. Pese a su popularización, todavía son escasas las inves
-
tigaciones que analizan el rol de la ciudadanía en estas plataformas
digitales en términos políticos. Por ello, nuestro objetivo es analizar
el uso ciudadano de estas plataformas para la actividad política y la
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1. Introduction
Digital platforms have shifted the communication paradigm within the contemporary political sphere, reshaping the
participation of diverse social actors. e traditional boundaries between political and journalistic elites have become
increasingly blurred, empowering the public to take an active role. Citizens do not only consume information but also
autonomously create and distribute their own content (Jenkins, 2006; Castells, 2009; Ceccarini, 2015). In this context, despite
the enduring prominence of traditional media (Casero-Ripollés, 2021), the consolidation of social media as a communication
tool has facilitated citizen empowerment (Castells, 2009).
Digital platforms provide new avenues for media consumption and political participation, enabling citizens to express their
opinions more openly and freely (Gil de Zúñiga, et al., 2021). Citizens use these platforms not only to access online versions
of oine content but also to create original content, comment on public issues or mobilise for social causes, thereby fostering
new forms of political participation. In this context, Gil de Zúñiga et al. (2021) establish a causal link between the consumption
of news via social media and increased political participation.
Until recently, platforms like X/Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been the predominant online spaces for citizen
participation in public aairs. However, in recent years, mobile instant messaging services have surged in popularity and
have emerged as critical channels for political communication between parties and citizens. is shift has fundamentally
transformed communication processes among various social actors (Zamora-Medina and Losada-Díaz, 2021; Pont-Sorribes,
Besalú and Codina, 2020). e user base of these services has expanded exponentially as they oer direct engagement with
social issues that directly impact citizens’ daily lives (Casero-Ripollés, 2020). e privacy of these platforms makes them
particularly appealing for quickly disseminating information to a large audience. Moreover, they facilitate discussions in
closed environments where messages are delivered directly to users’ devices through private conversations without third-
usefulness for citizen participation. Additionally, we aim to determine
the impact of sociopolitical factors on these uses. To achieve this, we
conducted a survey through an online panel on the Qualtrics platform,
launched in May 2023 and completed by 1,106 citizens residing in
Spain. e results show that 91.32% of the surveyed users regularly
use these digital platforms for political purposes, although their use
signicantly declines during election campaign periods. Generally,
citizens are highly satised with using these platforms for involvement
in public decision-making processes. Finally, it demonstrates how
gender, ideology, and interest in politics are the most inuential factors
in the three variables analysed.
Keywords:
Political communication; citizens; mobile instant messaging services;
participation; sociopolitical factors.
percepción de su utilidad para la participación ciudadana. Además,
se pretende determinar la incidencia que tienen en estos los factores so
-
ciopolíticos. Para ello se ha realizado una encuesta mediante un panel
online de la plataforma Qualtrics que se lanzó en mayo de 2023 y fue
contestado por un total de 1106 ciudadanos residentes en España. Los
resultados muestran que el 91.32% de los usuarios encuestados utilizan
de forma ordinaria los servicios móviles de mensajería instantánea en
relación con la política, si bien su uso decae signicativamente duran
-
te el periodo de campaña electoral. Por lo general, los ciudadanos los
consideran útiles para el involucramiento en los procesos de toma de
decisiones públicas. Por último, se demuestra como el género, la ideolo
-
gía y el interés por la política son los factores más inuyentes en las tres
variables analizadas.
Palabras clave:
Comunicación política; ciudadanía; servicios móviles de mensajería
instantánea; participación; factores sociopolíticos.
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party access (Vermeer et al. 2021). is aspect encourages users to create smaller, more private social groups, diverging from
the more inclusive and open nature of social media platforms like Facebook or X/Twitter (Valeriani and Vaccari 2018).
Among these applications, as of February 2023, WhatsApp leads with 2,244 billion users worldwide, while Telegram has already
reached 800 million users (We Are Social, 2023). Despite their growing popularity and large user bases, research on mobile
instant messaging services in the eld of political communication is still in its infancy (Casero-Ripollés, 2018). is, coupled
with the historical predominance of studies focusing on media and political actors in the digital sphere, creates an especially
compelling context for exploring the role of citizens within these platforms. erefore, the primary objective of this research
is to analyse citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging services for political activity and the perception of their usefulness for
citizen participation. Furthermore, this research is particularly original as it also examines the impact of sociopolitical factors
on these issues.
2. e platformisation of political communication
In recent years, mobile devices have become indispensable tools in citizens’ daily lives. Over 90% of users in Spain consider
them their primary means of accessing their social networks (AIMC, 2020), making them essential elements across various
sectors. (Plantin and Punathambekar, 2019). Despite their primarily social origins, connectivity, immediacy, portability,
personalisation and ubiquity of these technologies, they contribute to reshaping the communicative and social landscape
on a broad scale (Aguado and Martínez, 2008). Consequently, these digital media platforms are not only central to social
interactions but also inuence consumption habits and even citizens’ political participation (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2021).
e concept of “Life Mobile Style”, which denotes the need to be constantly connected to a mobile device, has led to a signicant
increase in the consumption of political information through these technologies (Guzmán and Sánchez-Medero, 2016). e
immediacy and global reach inherent in mobile communication have facilitated the widespread dissemination of information,
enabling it to reach recipients instantly. Recent studies have shown that political content ranks among the most consumed by
mobile users (Varona-Aramburu, Sánchez-Martín and Arrocha, 2017). is trend is driven by individuals interested in such
information and spending more time accessing the internet to stay informed (Stephens et al., 2014), a habit they transfer to
mobile platforms. Overall, these technologies expand their advantages to other platforms and create a exible environment
for discussing politics and public aairs, connecting users virtually anytime and anywhere (Vanden Abeele, De Wolf and Ling,
2018; Campbell and Kwak, 2011).
2.1. Citizen use of mobile instant messaging services
Alongside social media like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, the digital environment provides citizens with new avenues for
the reconguration of democracy. Mobile instant messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram are central to this
transformation, and their use has become extraordinarily popular in recent years. ese platforms oer limitless content
creation and dissemination opportunities while remaining highly accessible to citizens. Consequently, they have evolved into
preferred spaces for generating new forms of interaction and fostering social connectivity, which is crucial to the emergence
of a new participatory culture (Ling, 2017; Bayer et al., 2016).
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Mobile instant messaging services enable individuals to engage in political activities. ey are becoming primary sources of
information (Casero-Ripollés, 2018). rough them, as previous studies conrm (Alonso-Muñoz and Casero Ripollés, 2022),
they facilitate the “news nds me” eect (Gil de Zúñiga and Diehl, 2019), whereby users receive current information on their
mobile devices and share it with their contacts. is process enhances their knowledge of and encourages their involvement
in public issues of interest (Lee et al., 2014), fostering a sense of community engagement (Osah and Pade-Khene, 2020). is
eect is particularly eective locally (Alonso-Muñoz and Casero Ripollés, 2022), where larger populations face more signicant
challenges staying informed and engaging with essential local topics (Frandsen, 2002).
Another potential of mobile instant messaging services for citizens in political terms is that, due to their controlled
environment, they enable political participation to dier from other digital platforms where interaction is public and open.
As they are based on private communication, these services cultivate a much more conversational and multimodal character
that diers from other networks (Matassi, Boczkowski and Mitchelstein, 2019), thereby facilitating the exchange of personal
comments on political matters of interest (Yamamoto, Kushiny Dalisay 2018). Just as political parties use these channels to
shield themselves from potential criticism by opponents (Tirado-García, 2022), citizens similarly turn to these spaces to feel
safer when expressing opinions openly and to avoid discomfort and possible negative reactions found on other social media
such as Facebook or Twitter (Karapanos, Teixeira and Gouveia, 2016).
Using mobile instant messaging services also increases citizens’ awareness of their surroundings, social issues that aect
them and topics of personal interest. As a result, political debates on these services promote advocacy for shared causes and
social mobilisation, bridging oine and online participation (Rodríguez-Estrada, Muñiz and Echeverría, 2020; Gil de Zúñiga,
Barnidge and Diehl, 2018; Weeks, Ardèvol-Abreu and Gil de Zúñiga, 2017). In this regard, these platforms possess a viral
potential and broad reach, enabling unprecedented connections
to pursue democratic objectives
(
Bennett and Segerberg,
2012). In the Spanish context, an example of the potential of mobile instant messaging services was observed during the
Tsunami Democràtic
movement in 2019 in Catalonia- in response to the verdict from the trial regarding the independence
process. is collective created a Telegram channel that enabled its followers to organise mobilisations, disseminate their
objectives and coordinate protests (López-Tárraga, 2020).
3. Methodology
e objective of this study is to analyse citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging services for political activity and their
perception of their usefulness for citizen participation. A quantitative content analysis technique was employed via an online
survey (CEISH/19/2022) to accomplish this. e survey was launched in May 2023 via the Qualtrics platform, a specialised tool
for conducting online surveys, and the response collection period lasted one week, strategically chosen as it preceded three
critical elections: municipal and regional elections (both on 28 May 2023) and the national election (July 23, 2023). A total of
1106 citizens residing in Spain participated in the survey (50/50 gender balance and including individuals aged 18 and above).
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e following research questions were proposed:
RQ1. What is citizens’ political use of mobile instant messaging services during regular political periods and the electoral
campaign?
RQ2. How do citizens perceive the usefulness of mobile instant messaging services for political participation?
RQ3. What impact do sociopolitical factors have on the level of political engagement using mobile instant messaging
services and their perception of their usefulness for political participation?
ree variables have been used to respond to the posed research questions:
a) Use of mobile instant messaging services during the regular political period. Participants were asked to indicate how
frequently they use platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram for political purposes outside the election campaign period.
is variable was measured through a Likert scale, where 1= = never and 5= = every day.
b) Use of mobile instant messaging services during the electoral campaign. Respondents were asked to specify how often
they use platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram for political purposes during the electoral campaigns. is variable was
measured using a Likert scale, where 1 = never and 5 = every day.
c) Perception of the usefulness of mobile instant messaging services for citizen participation. Users were asked to rate the
eectiveness of platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram for citizen participation. is variable was measured using a Likert
scale, where 1 = not useful at all and 5 = extremely useful.
Six sociopolitical variables were selected as independent variables:
a) Gender. Divided into two categories: men and women.
b) Age: Divided into ve categories: 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64, 65+.
c) Education level: Divided into three categories: primary school or less, secondary education, and university education.
d) Ideology: Divided into 6 categories: radical left, moderate left, centre, moderate right, extreme right, apolitical.
e) Intention to vote in the next elections: Divided into two categories: yes or no.
f) Interest in national political aairs: Divided into ve categories: none at all, very little, somewhat, quite a lot/bit, a lot.
ANOVA tests were conducted to examine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. is method
allows us to determine whether there were statistically signicant dierences among groups for each dependent variable
analysed (Babbie, 2004). Data processing was performed using the statistical package SPSS v.29.
4. Results
4.1. Citizen use of mobile instant messaging services and Perceived perception of usefulness for political participation
e data indicate that Spanish citizens use mobile instant messaging services for political purposes with a medium-high
frequency, as evidenced by mean values above 3 on a scale from zero to ve during regular periods and electoral campaigns.
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is suggests that citizens have largely incorporated these platforms into their daily lives as an additional channel for political
activity, whether for informational purposes, participation in public debate, mobilisation, etc.
Our results indicate that citizen use of these platforms declines signicantly during the electoral campaign period compared
to regular political periods. Specically, citizens use these platforms more frequently during regular political periods (M=3.93;
DS=1.401) (Table 1) than in the fteen days leading up to the elections (M=3.29; DS=1.501) (Table 1). is decline occurs
despite intensied communication strategies by political parties, which disseminate substantial amounts of information and
campaign-related messages through these applications during the electoral period. Regarding citizens’ perception of the
usefulness of mobile instant messaging services for political participation, the data also show a high average, suggesting that
users generally nd these platforms useful for engaging in political activities and connecting with their political community
(M=3.51, DS=1.024) (Table 1).
Table 1. Level of citizen use of mobile instant messaging services and perceived usefulness for citizen participation
MDS
Use in the regular period
3.931.401
Use in electoral campaigns
3.291.501
Perception of usefulness for
political participation
3.511.024
Source: created by the authors
4.2. Impact of sociopolitical factors
e ANOVA test results show that gender is a signicant, inuential factor in the three variables analysed. Specically, we found
statistically signicant dierences between men and women in their use of mobile instant messaging services during both
regular political periods (p= <.001; M= 3,93; DS= 1.401) and campaign periods (p= .011; M= 3,29; DS= 1.510) as well as in the
perceived usefulness for political participation (p= .002; M= 3,51; DS= 1.024). During regular political periods, men (M=3.97;
DS=1.401) reported higher usage values than women (M=3.89; DS= 1.401) when using mobile instant messaging services for
political purposes (Table 2). is trend continues during the electoral campaign, albeit less prominently, with men (M=3.34;
DS=1.465) using these platforms more often than women (M=3.24; DS=1.553) (Table 2). ese ndings are consistent with
the results regarding the perception of the usefulness of these channels for political participation, which becomes particularly
salient during electoral campaigns. Men consider these channels more useful for political participation (M=3.58; DS=0.979)
compared to women (M=3.45; DS=1.06) (Table 2).
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Table 2. Citizen use of mobile instant messaging services and the perceived usefulness for citizen participation by gender
MENWOMENANOVA
MDSMDS
p
Use in the regular period
3.971.4013.891.385<.001*
Use in electoral campaigns
3.341.4653.241.553.011***
Perception of usefulness for political
participation
3.58.9793.451.06.002**
*p<.001; **p<0.1;***p<.05
Source: created by the authors
e ANOVA test reveals a statistically signicant relationship between age and the use of mobile instant messaging services in
political terms, both during regular periods (p= <.001; M= 3,93; DS= 1.401) and electoral campaigns (p= <.001; M= 3,29; DS=
1.510). In this regard, the results indicate that, as age increases, the use of these digital platforms for political participation
decreases. Individuals over 65 constitute the age group that use these services the least both during electoral campaigns
(M=2.94; DS= 1.489) and regular periods (M=3.45; DS=1.538) (Table 3). Conversely, the age group most likely to use these
channels for political purposes includes individuals aged 18-24 during regular periods (M=4.17; DS=1.253) and those aged
25-34 during electoral campaigns (M=3.44; DS= 1.451) (Table 3).
Regarding the perceived usefulness of using mobile instant messaging services for citizens’ political participation, the data
reveals that it is not an inuential factor as there is no statistically signicant relationship between both variables (p= .203;
M= 3,51; DS= 1.024). Citizens over 65 have the highest value in this regard (M=3.56; DS= 0.858). It should be noted that this is
the age group that uses these mobile applications the least. Conversely, the 45-64 age group perceives these tools as the least
useful for citizen participation (M=3.47; DS= 1.003) (Table 3).
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Table 3. Citizen use and perception of the usefulness of Mobile Instant Messaging services for Citizen Participation by age
18-2425-3435-4445-64+65
ANOVA
MDSMDSMDSMDS
M
DSp
Use in the regular period
4.171.2534.131.2983.851.4223.621.5413.451.538<.001*
Use in electoral campaigns
3.431.4813.441.4513.251.533.081.5502.941.489<.001*
Perception of usefulness for
political participation
3.551.1073.501.0293.52.9903.471.0333.56.858.203
*p<.001
Source: created by the authors
e analysis of the data by education level according to the ANOVA test indicates that education level is capable of inuencing
the citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging services for political purposes during regular political periods (p= .015; M= 3,93;
DS= 1.401), as well as their perception of the usefulness of these services (p= .017; M= 3,51; DS= 1.024), but not their use during
electoral campaigns (p= .101; M= 3,29; DS= 1.510). In terms of education level, citizens with a university education exhibit the
highest values in the political use of these digital channels during regular periods (M=4.06; DS= 1.333) and perceive them as
highly useful (M=3.54; DS= 0.997) (Table 4). Individuals with elementary and secondary education levels show very similar
values across the analysed aspects (Table 4).
Table 4. Citizen use of mobile instant messaging services and the perception of their usefulness for citizen
participation according to education level
SCHOOL
GRADUATION OR LESS
SECONDARY
EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION
ANOVA
MDSMDSMDSp
Use in the regular period
3.771.1453.791.4674.061.333.015***
Use in the electoral
campaign
3.021.5503.241.5403.361.4810.101
Perception of usefulness for
political participation
3.481.1413.481.0493.54.997.017***
***p<.05
Source: created by the authors
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e ANOVA test indicates a statistically signicant relationship between ideology and the use of mobile instant messaging
services both during the electoral campaign periods (p= <.001; M= 3,29; DS= 1.510) and outside of them (p= <.001; M= 3,93;
DS= 1.401), as well as in the perception of their usefulness for political participation (p= .006; M= 3,51; DS= 1.024). e data
reveals that individuals who are ideologically aligned with the moderate right tend to use these mobile digital platforms most
frequently for political activities during regular periods (M=4.14; DS=1.202), while during electoral campaigns, individuals
from the radical left demonstrate the highest usage rate of these services for political purposes(M=3.75; D=1.462). Finally,
individuals identifying with the centre ideology, whose ideology is more moderate, fall in an intermediate position in both
scenarios. ose who identify as apolitical, i.e., those who consider themselves disengaged from politics, exhibit the lowest
usage values (Table 5). Regarding the perception of usefulness, citizens aligned with the moderate right wing again report the
highest values (M=3.70; DS=0.983), while apolitical individuals register the lowest levels (M=3.14; DS=1.204) (Table 5).
Table 5. Citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging services and their perceived usefulness for citizen participation according to ideology
RADICAL
LEFT
MODERATE
LEFT
CENTRE
MODERATE
RIGHT
EXTREME
RIGHT
APOLITICALANOVA
MDSMDSMDSpDSMDSMDSp
Use in the
regular period
4.131.2683.851.4264.071.294.141.2024.041.1913.491.727<.001*
Use in electoral
campaigns
3.751.4623.301.443.391.473.491.4033.581.3592.671.510<.001*
Perception
of usefulness
for political
participation
3.421.0703.50.9803.58.9833.70.9033.621.1533.141.204.006**
*p<.001; **p<0.1
Source: created by the authors
Interest in politics shows a statistically signicant relationship with the three variables studied according to the ANOVA test
(Table 6). is implies that it is a factor capable of determining the use of mobile instant messaging services both during
the electoral campaign (p= <.001; M= 3,29; DS= 1.510) and outside the campaign (p= <.001; M= 3,93; DS= 1.401), as well as
their perceived usefulness for political participation (p= .<.001; M= 3,51; DS= 1.024). e data analysis shows that the more
interested citizens are in political aairs, the more they use these mobile applications for political participation and the greater
their perceived usefulness. us, individuals who are very interested in politics register the highest values both during the
regular period (M=4.36; DS= 1.112) and the electoral campaign (M=3.82; DS= 1.299), and are, in turn, those who perceive their
utility for participating in the country’s democratic issues with the most incredible intensity (M=4.00, DS=0.912) (Table 6). In
contrast, those with little or no interest in politics have correspondingly lower values (Table 6).
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Table 6. Citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging services and their perceived usefulness for citizen
participation according to Interest in Politics
NOT AT ALL
VERY LITTLE,
ALMOST
NOTHING
SOMEWHAT
QUITE A LOTA LOT
ANOVA
MDSMDSMDSMDSMDSp
Use in a regular period
3.311.8293.401.623.901.3443.901.3444.361.122<.001*
Use in the electoral
campaign
2.651.7562.611.5233.051.5013.541.2863.821.299<.001*
Perception of
usefulness for political
participation
3.041.3392.901.0073.32.9203.59.8714.00.912<.001*
*p<.001
Source: created by the authors
Finally, the ANOVA test results indicate no statistically signicant relationship between citizens’ intention to vote and any of
the three variables analysed. Whether individuals intend to vote or not is not a factor that conditions citizens’ use of mobile
instant messaging services for political purposes, neither during electoral campaigns (p= .629; M= 3,29; DS= 1.510) nor outside
of them (p= .083; M= 3,93; DS= 1.401) nor in their perception of the usefulness of these services (p= .156; M= 3,52; DS= 1.024).
Upon analysing the results of this variable, it becomes evident that there is no clear predominance of those who intend
to vote compared to those who do not, and vice versa. ere is also no signicant trend among undecided citizens either.
Consequently, users who do intend to vote are the ones who most frequently use mobile instant messaging services during
both regular periods (M=4.01; DS=1.327) and electoral campaigns (M=3.41; DS=1.455), and they also perceive these mobile
applications as highly useful (M=3.58; DS=0.964) (Table 7).
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Table 7. Citizen use of mobile instant messaging services and their perceived usefulness for citizen
participation according to intention to vote
NOYES
I DON’T KNOW YET
ANOVA
MDSMDSMDSp
Use in a regular period
3.571.6524.011.3273.681.590.083
Use in electoral
2.901.6513.411.4552.831.619.629
Perception of the usefulness
of political participation
3.271.2043.58.9643.211.203.156
Source: created by the authors
5. Discussion and conclusions
is study analyses citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging services for political participation and their perceived utility in
this context. Furthermore, it examines the inuence of certain sociopolitical factors on the variables related to this political
activity and its perceived usefulness. e ndings provide valuable insights for identifying several signicant contributions
within an exploratory framework.
Our ndings indicate that mobile instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram have become indispensable
tools for citizens today. is is reected in the fact that over 90% of respondents use such mobile instant messaging services for
political purposes, with more than half using them daily. Moreover, users who have never used them do not exceed 13% of the
total. erefore, a high average usage rate indicates that these technological tools have been incorporated into citizens’ daily
lives for political activities (RQ1). is reinforces the results of previous studies (Alonso-Muñoz and Casero Ripollés, 2022) that
identify the use of these mobile digital platforms by citizens to participate in public aairs, whether it be by staying informed
about current aairs, posting their opinions or sharing news of interest. is widespread use of these platforms by citizens can
be attributed to the eect that, according to Marcos-García and Tirado-García (2022), parties seek when using these platforms
to leverage direct and private communication that characterises these mobile applications to engage citizens and encourage
them to participate in political issues.
Our ndings also allow us to identify original trends in citizens’ comparative use of mobile instant messaging services during
and outside electoral campaigns. Despite a generally high usage rate, citizens use these digital platforms more frequently
during regular political periods and use decreases during election time (RQ1). is is particularly interesting if we take into
account that, according to previous literature, electoral campaigns are the time when parties intensify their communication
activity and social media presence (Elishar-Malka, Ariel and Weimann, 2020; Stier et al., 2018; Vergeer, 2015). erefore,
our results detect a relevant contradiction: the increase in the use of mobile applications by political parties coincides with
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decreased usage by citizens, who use these digital platforms less frequently during this period. is may have implications for
the eectiveness of political actors using mobile instant messaging services as an electoral campaign tool.
e results reveal a medium-high level regarding the perceived usefulness of citizens’ use of mobile instant messaging platforms
for political participation. is, in turn, is consistent with the high usage rates of these platforms (RQ2). us, citizens generally
consider these applications useful for political participation and subsequently use them frequently for this purpose. In this
regard, Karapanos, Teixeira and Gouveia (2016) view that citizens turn to these services because they feel safer expressing their
opinions openly in a closed environment, thereby avoiding discomfort and potential criticism present on more open social
networks like Facebook or Twitter, could be decisive in explaining this fact.
Finally, our ndings underscore the inuence of certain sociopolitical factors on both the usage and citizens’ perception of
mobile instant messaging services about politics. A statistically signicant relationship allows us to arm that factors such as
gender, ideology and interest in politics inuence all the variables analysed. In contrast, factors such as intention to vote do not
inuence any of them (RQ3). Men, right-wing citizens, and those with a heightened interest in politics are more inclined to use
these platforms and perceive them as being more useful for political issues. ese results represent a novel contribution since
the impact of these variables on the perception and political use of mobile instant messaging services in the Spanish context
has not been previously analysed. erefore, this study represents a highly original contribution to the eld of digital political
communication.
is research aims to enhance our understanding of the use of mobile instant messaging services for public activity and the
perception of their usefulness for citizen participation, considering various sociopolitical factors. However, while the sample
is representative, it would be valuable to adopt a comparative approach to juxtapose these ndings with those from other
countries. Such an approach would help determine these platforms’ role in diverse sociopolitical contexts, oering a potential
avenue for future research.
Despite its limitations, this is one of the rst studies to examine citizens’ use and perception of mobile instant messaging
services. Consequently, it provides relevant data for political parties and public institutions to manage these tools and devise
their communication strategies, which can have signicant potential and relevance for enhancing their impact on citizens’
political participation.
6. Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Sophie Phillips for translating this article into English.
is article is linked to R&D projects with reference PID2020-119492GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/
and “FEDER A way of doing Europe”.
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7. Specic contributions of each author
Name and Surname
Conception and design of the work
Alejandra Tirado-García and Andreu Casero-Ripollés
Methodology
Alejandra Tirado-García and Andreu Casero-Ripollés
Data collection and analysis
Alejandra Tirado-García and Andreu Casero-Ripollés
Discussion and conclusions
Alejandra Tirado-García and Andreu Casero-Ripollés
Drafting, formatting, version review and approval
Alejandra Tirado-García and Andreu Casero-Ripollés
8. Conict of interest
e authors declare that there is no conict of interest contained in this article.
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