A Social Milieu Approach to the Online Participation Divides in Germany

This presentation summarizes a qualitative study of participation divides in Germany. Focus groups and online communities with 96 participants from seven distinct social milieus serve to differentiate online participation along social lines. The results show that German citizens are strongly segregated into distinct Internet milieus that differ in their intensity, variety, understanding and attitudes towards online participation. Each milieu displays a specific participatory habitus and some of the findings challenge existing research on digital and participation divides.