Value Conflicts in a Differentiated Europe: The Impact of Digital Media on Value Polarisation in Europe (ValCon)

The ValCon project examines the role of digital social & news media in creating political value polarization among citizens and in promoting the rise of populism in Europe. The study was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. In the survey period from April to May 2021, people between the ages of 18 and 65 with internet access in 6 European countries (Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain) were surveyed in online interviews (CAWI) on the following topics: social media, democratic values, political participation and alignment. The respondents were selected using a quota sample from the Ipsos Online Access Panel with the following quota characteristics: Age, sex, region, education.<br>Social Media: frequency of use of the following sources in the last month: print newspapers, digital news outlets, TV or Radio Programs, voice/video calls, internet private messaging, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, other social media); hours of active use of these sources on an average day; frequency of different ways of meeting and communicating socially in the last month (face-to-face meetings, letters through regular mail, voice/ video calls, private messages on the internet, Facebook posts or comments, Twitter tweets or replies, Instagram posts or comments, other (open)); estimated number of friends on Facebook; estimated number of followers on Twitter; estimated number of accounts the respondent follows on Twitter; estimated number of followers on Instagram; estimated number of accounts the respondent follows on Instagram; frequency of how often people brought politics into the conversation in the following situations (people whom the respondent meets and visits, people with whom the respondent exchanges letters through regular mail, people whose comments the respondent encounters in digital news outlets, people with whom the respondent communicates through Voice/ Video calls, people with whom the respondent exchanges private messages on the internet, people in YouTube videos and/or comments, people whose posts or comments the respondent encounters on Facebook and Instagram, people whose tweets or replies the respondent encounters on Twitter, people the respondent encounters on other media, people with whom the respondent communicates or interacts socially on different ways); frequency of starting a political discussion in the last month in the afore mentioned situations; frequency of agreement or disagreement with the political views expressed or conveyed during last month in the different settings or situations; frequency of involvement in a political argument in different settings or situations (last month); frequency of becoming attacked for political views in different settings; reaction after being confronted with a strongly disliked political opinion in different settings or situations (did not say anything but broke contact with this person, I argued and then broke contact with this person, I argued with this person but remained in touch afterward, I ignored the comment and moved on to talk about or do other things, I tried to find common ground with this person).

Democratic Values: opinion on governing a country (should be governed by a powerful leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections, should be governed by experts who are not elected by the population or by people elected in free and competitive elections and who are controlled by parliament and the courts); attitudes towards the following principles government in the country should be based on: judges should be appointed and reach decisions without interference from the government, when the national interest demands it, the government should be entitled to overrule the courts, people should choose their leaders in free elections, women should be treated equally to men in the labor market, lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people should have the same rights as the rest of the population, the government should restrict the rights of citizens belonging to ethnic, racial, or religious minorities (e.g., Roma, Jewish, Muslim), no limits to what people and the press can say in public, political parties that cross certain ideological or programmatic limits should be banned from competing in elections, the human rights of immigrants should be fully respected, the government should never stand above the law, European Union law and policy should be implemented in the country only when our national government agrees with them, one of the government’s priorities should be to redistribute wealth in the population); general trust; institutional trust (political parties, national parliament, courts, national government, European Commission, European Parliament, mainstream/ traditional media, Social media); identity (as only national, national first and then European, European first and then national, only European); agreement with different statements (many feminists just hate men, there will be no justice in the country until an elected government dares to challenge the power of economic elites, ethnic/ religious minorities and immigrants are destroying all that is good about this country, the law is too permissive with fascists in this country, the country must be prepared to fight against the enemies of private property, society must mobilize against the dominance of men in the country, the Covid-19 policies unduly violate our personal freedom, the Covid-19 pandemic is an invention by big pharmaceutical companies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Covid-19 virus was artificially produced in a Chinese lab, people like me are being systematically neglected, whereas other groups receive more than they deserve).

Political participation and alignment: political interest; rating of the influence that people can have on how the country is governed; rating how democratic the country is today; frequency of voting in elections; voted in the last national election; political party the respondent would vote for if next week a national election took place; closeness to this party; likeliness the respondent would ever vote for selected parties; kinds of political participation during the last 12 months (contacted a politician, government or local government official, worked in a political party or action group, worked in another organization or association, worn or displayed a campaign badge/sticker, changed your profile picture on social media in support of a cause, signed a paper (non-electronic) petition, signed an electronic petition, taken part in a lawful public demonstration, boycotted certain products, donated to a group or campaign, donated to a group or campaign on the internet, encouraged others to take action about political issues, encouraged others on the internet/social media to take action about political issues, encouraged others to vote, encouraged others on the internet/social media to vote, used the internet and social media tools to organize political activities, events, protests, used the internet/social media tools to criticize a politician or a political organization, used the internet/ social media tools to criticize a particular social group).

Demography: sex; age; age groups; region; country; nationality; born in the country of interview or in another country; education: highest level of education (ISCED); education low, midium, high; main occupation in the last week; if not in paid work: last time the respondent had a paid job; respondent still lives in the household he/ she grew up in; primary source of household’s income; other sources of regular income in the household; place of living: bought property/ rented property; financial situation of the household when the respondent was 14 years old; household’s current economic and financial situation and in 10 years; living together with a partner; number of children; number of these children depending on the respondent for most of their financial needs; size of household; computer at home; frequency of use of the internet on different devices for personal use; degree of urbanization; number of friends and relatives outside the household, the respondent did have social contact with last month; agreement with the following statements (It’s not wise to tell your secrets, people see me as a natural leader, one should wait for the right time to get back at people, I’ll say anything to get what I want, people often say I’m out of control, I like to use clever manipulation to get my way, I hate being the center of attention, I enjoy getting revenge on the authorities); feelings when thinking about the current political situation in the country (anger, anxiety, hope, sadness, contempt).

Additionally coded: weight; respondent ID; date of interview (day, month, year); population density; month and year of interview.