new media & society 2014, Vol. 16(6) 903–920 © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1461444813495163 nms.sagepub.com Unraveling the effects of active and passive forms of political Internet use: Does it affect citizens’ political involvement? Sanne Kruikemeier, Guda van Noort, Rens Vliegenthart and Claes H de Vreese University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands Abstract In the time since the rise of the Internet, it has often been claimed that it has the potential to contribute to the quality of democracy by fostering citizens’ involvement in politics. So far, empirical evidence regarding this purported effect has been mixed, and many questions about the consequences of specific forms of political Internet use (PIU) have remained unanswered. This study expands the knowledge about the relation between PIU and political involvement by examining the effect of active and passive forms of PIU on citizens’ political involvement: more specifically, interest and voter turnout during election times. The results obtained from a panel study of a representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 985) reveal a positive relation between particular forms of PIU on the one hand and voter turnout and political interest on the other hand. In addition, for two specific forms of PIU, the positive effect on voter turnout is more prevalent for citizens who exhibit lower levels of political interest. Keywords Active forms, election, Internet, panel survey, passive forms, political interest, political involvement, voter turnout The use of the Internet in the communication of politics has increased tremendously. During the past decade, political parties and elected representatives have used the Internet to inform citizens and party members about their plans, points of view, and daily Corresponding author: Sanne Kruikemeier, Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Email: S.Kruikemeier@uva.nl 495163NMS 0010.1177/1461444813495163new media & societyKruikemeier et al. 2013 Article at Universiteit van Amsterdam on August 18, 2015 nms.sagepub.com Downloaded from