Más allá de la ideología: la influencia de la dieta mediática en la polarización afectiva en España

Abstract

The aim of this research is to determine whether an individual’s media diet influences their affective polarization levels by evaluating the variety of media consumed in ideological terms rather than quantity. The Spanish election campaign of 23 July, 2023 (23J), has been analyzed based on data from the Third National Survey on Political Polarization in Spain conducted by CEMOP (the Murcia Centre for Studies on Public Opinion). A descriptive analysis of audience polarization is presented first, concluding that newspapers and television display high levels of affective polarization. The results of the linear regression performed for the purpose of testing our main objective show that a lack of diversity in television and newspaper consumption leads to higher levels of individual affective polarization. Moreover, it has been observed that consuming content on the television channel La Sexta increases affective polarization among audiences