美國：網絡對政治影響越來越大
More than half of US adults used the Web to engage in the US presidential election and supporters of Barack Obama were considerably more active online than those of John McCain, according to a study released on Wednesday.
"The 2008 election was the first in which more than half the voting-age population used the Internet for political purposes," said the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, which conducted the study.
Fifty-five percent of all voting-age US adults -- and 74 percent of all Internet users -- said they went online for news and information about the election or to communicate with others about the race, the study found.
The percentage of Americans relying on the Web as a major source of campaign news more than doubled over the 2000 election -- from 11 percent to 26 percent, Pew said.
Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace and video-sharing sites like YouTube played a key role, it said, as voters went online to share their views and try to mobilize others to their cause.
"Voters in 2008 were not just passive followers of the political process," said Aaron Smith, a research specialist at Pew and author of the report.
"They used a wide range of digital tools and technologies to get involved in the race, to harness their creativity in support of their chosen candidate, and to join forces with others who shared their same political goals."
While more Americans went online for political purposes than ever before, supporters of Democratic candidate Obama were more active on the Internet than those of his Republican rival McCain, the study found.
Twenty percent of Obama supporters shared political content online, compared with 16 percent of McCain backers, and 18 percent of Obama partisans signed up to receive automatic updates about the election compared with nine percent of McCain supporters.
Obama supporters were much more likely to contribute money online, with 15 percent of Obama supporters saying they did so compared with only six percent of McCain backers.
"The 2008 elections saw the role of the Internet in politics increase and it witnessed the emergence of a unique group of online political activists," said Smith.
"Compared with other Internet users, these individuals delve more deeply into the political news of the day, and take part in a much wider range of online political activities."
The study was based on a survey of 2,254 adults conducted between November 20 and December 4. It has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
本週三公佈的一項調查顯示，半數以上的美國成年人通過網絡參與了去年的總統大選，而且巴拉克• 奧巴馬的支持者比約翰•麥凱恩的支持者在網上活躍得多。
皮尤研究中心“網絡與美國生活”項目組開展了此項調查，他們稱：“在2008年的總統大選中，我們首次發現半數以上的選民爲了政治目的而上網。”
調查結果顯示，55%的美國成年選民以及74%的網民稱，他們上網獲取選舉新聞和信息，或者與其他人就總統選舉進行交流。
皮尤研究中心稱，在2000年總統大選中，主要依靠網絡獲取大選信息的美國人佔11%，而在2008年這一比例已經翻了一倍多，達到26%。
研究發現，Facebook和MySpace等社交網站，以及YouTube等視頻分享網站在競選中也起到重要作用，選民上網與他人交流，並鼓動他人改變立場。
皮尤研究中心專家及研究報告作者亞倫•史密斯說：“在2008年大選中，選民不再只是被動地參與政治進程。”
“他們利用多種信息設備和技術參與競選，充分發揮創造力聲援自己的候選人，並與政治目標一致的人聯合起來。”
研究發現，雖然同以往相比，有更多的美國人上網是出於政治目的，但民主黨候選人奧巴馬的支持者要比他的競爭對手共和黨人麥凱恩的支持者更爲活躍。
奧巴馬的支持者中有20%在網上分享政治消息，還有18%登記接收競選新聞的自動更新，而麥凱恩的支持者中這個比例分別爲16%和9%。
奧巴馬的支持者也更樂於在網上捐款，其中15%稱自己曾經捐款，而麥凱恩的支持者捐款率僅爲6%。
史密斯說：“在2008年總統競選中，網絡扮演了更爲重要的角色，我們也見證了網絡政治活躍分子這一獨特羣體的崛起。”
“與其他網民相比，這些人每天更關注政治新聞，參加的在線政治活動範圍也更大。”
共有2254名成年人蔘與了去年11月20日至12月4日間開展的此項調查，誤差幅度在正負2%以內。
Vocabulary:
mobilize：to marshal, bring together, prepare (power, force, wealth, etc.) for action,（動員）
join forces with：聯合
margin of error：誤差幅度
