According to a new Ipsos Reid poll, one-in-five registered Canadian voters rely on social media on an escalating basis to stay informed on political issues and to debate them with others.
The Vancouver Sun reveals that 21% of Canadian voters are logging onto Facebook, Twitter and political blogs, as well as the usual assortment of traditional news websites.
“As we get deeper into the election, and we have a debate this week, we may see engagement go up. But I think this is sort of the base line,” said Mike Colledge, president of Ipsos Reid public affairs in Canada.
The study, however, indicates that voters are turning to social media as a way to stay informed and debate, not necessarily to determine which candidates they should oppose or support.
“We thought that maybe the people who were going to look online were looking for information to make up their mind,” said Colledge. “We haven’t seen that either in the daily or the weekly (results).”
The survey interviewed 1,001 random Canadian voters via telephone. The Vancouver Sun says the poll is considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points.
