Net users 'switched off'

The links are in place but few people are interested

By BBC News Online technology correspondent Mark Ward

The internet is having almost no effect on voting decisions in the general election, research suggests.

Although political parties are trying to engage voters with interesting and innovative websites, only 2% of net users are certain to go online to find out more about parties and policies.

Some 74% of interested online users favoured traditional media sites, like BBC News Online say researchers, with only a third saying they planned to visit the site of a national party or local candidate.

Voters just do not know what is out there

James Crabtree
iSociety

The Industrial Society study also indicates that although net users potentially have access to huge amounts of information about parties, they seem less likely to vote than those who do not use the web.

But the report suggests that political parties can change this and perhaps win votes if they can encourage people visit their websites.

Online apathy

The 2001 election campaign may be the most wired yet, but the study by the iSociety project at the Industrial Society says Britain's net population does not appear to be making use of the medium to become better informed voters.

In a report entitled "Whatever Happened to the E-lection?", the researchers say reality is confounding expectations that the net will turn apathetic voters into active, engaged citizens.

It says that only 2% of Britain's 15 million regular internet users will definitely use the web to find out more about the political parties.

James Crabtree, who wrote the report, said the figure was so low because the parties had made no effort to attract voters.

As a result most of those questioned simply did not know what was available online, or where to look.

"We have had the best internet election you have ever seen and the parties are being very innovative, but they have not told voters what they are doing," said Mr Crabtree.

"The voters just do not know what is out there."

'Good news'

The research indicated that many net users did not feel the need to look online for information because they already felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information pumped at them through more traditional media such as newspapers, radio and television.

It also suggested that net users were also less likely to vote, with 51% of net users certain to vote, compared with 56% of the general population.

The report says that "even if use of internet technology does make citizens more informed, it does not necessarily breed political engagement".

Mr Crabtree said the good news for political parties from the study was that when voters were shown what was available on the net they did become much more interested.

Often they were surprised at the efforts parties had made to get their messages across.

The report says that the internet could help stop voters feeling simultaneously overwhelmed and under-informed.

Mass media election campaigns do a bad job of presenting details, leaving voters with only a broad impression of where a party stands on a particular issue, it says.

By contrast, the net gives people a chance to learn more about what concerns them, and lets them find out about nuances of policy.