Forms of participation

What does „Internet participation“ mean? This report documents the rich variety of areas and forms of participation on the Net. Therefore, it introduces a field, starts to apply structure and thus creates an initial overview. It is not possible to provide a conclusive definition of terms, however. The forms of participation considered in the research are too diverse for this to be feasible. Additional conceptual work will be necessary in order delineate „the“ participation on the Internet and to define its forms.

Nevertheless, an assumption that broad access to the Internet exists in Germany is justified. EU statistics indicate that 84 % of the German population use the Internet, 64 % daily (EUROSTAT, 2013). An 2013 ARD/ZDF online study shows that on average, Germans use the Internet on five days per week. The average daily Internet use is 169 minutes – the Internet is already the most intensively used medium in the group of under 30-year-olds, ahead of TV, radio and print media.

According to BITKOM (2012), the users spend the lion’s share of their online time (31 %) in social media or on multimedia platforms. An analysis of behaviour in the use of the Internet conducted by the US provider Forrester Research (2012) classifies Internet use based on the degree of activity. It shows that 69% of Internet users in the EU-7 states visit social media as a means of acquiring information, while 50 % maintain a presence in social networks. Roughly one third of users post comments, assign ratings or provide similar assessments or feedback. Also, one quarter of users actively post their own content on the Net, whether it be texts, photos, music or videos.

Figure 2: The rungs in the participation ladder

Figure 2: The rungs in the participation ladder

This distinction is equivalent to the idea of an activity or „participation ladder“ (cf. Fig. 2). It states that forms of participation are distinguishable based on their degree of activation. On the lowest level we find informative participation, denoting the collection and absorption of information. The second rung involves various forms of commentary or response – among them ratings, feedback, comments and also „likes“. The third rung, also the highest, describes active participation in the sense of introducing personal ideas, contributions or proposals.

The described forms of participation match different forms of Internet use (Haller et al., 2011). Motives for use such as information, entertainment/pleasure and commentary/active communication are distinguished regularly, whereby there are certainly connections between these forms of use: There is a positive correlation between informative Internet use and other forms of use; it acts like a foundation or condition for active participation (Haller et al., 2011; Hwang et al., 2006; Wang, 2007). However, repercussions are also identified in the opposite direction: Active participation promotes absorption and processing, also interpretation, of information.

Time and again it is evident that the various forms of participation and use are spread unevenly: Active use may certainly be common, but it remains a minority phenomenon when compared with more pervasive uses such as information and also entertainment (Albrecht, 2006).

Figure 3: Strategies to promote participation

Figure 3: Strategies to promote participation

This is the reason for the proposal of strategies to promote participation (cf. Fig 3): „Enable“ means to provide access to information; „Include“ describes the creation of opportunities for interaction and forms of entering into dialogue; finally, „Empower“ involves the provision of cooperative forms of interaction such as involvement in structural and decision-making processes.

It is necessary to widen the horizon to consider not merely the technological, but above all the social conditions and frameworks of participation, precisely because active participation cannot be taken for granted (yet?). As described earlier, new media also create new fields of opportunity to engage in participation processes. But to what extent are they used for active participation? For what purpose and by whom? Frequently, the debate around participation on the Net is based on an implicit, normative foundation that deems to be positive the greatest possible human participation in social interaction and decision-making processes. However, it is warranted to at least note that this is by no means self-evident, and instead represents the outcome of political-philosophical and cultural influences associated with a certain perception of (Net) citizenship (Bennett et al., 2011).

In light of this normative, positive assessment of social participation and the consequent appreciation of innovation within media technology as an opportunity for deeper and/or more expanded participation, it is necessary to understand which areas and forms of participation exist and are already in use today. The following section presents the areas of participation identified in the literature analysis. The next chapter will then take a closer look at these areas, and will set about analysing the individual forms of participation, their premises and repercussions.