Republicans Close the Social Media Gap

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A Pew Internet Research and American Life Project survey out today finds Republicans caught up to Democrats in political engagement on social networking sites between the last two election cycles:

The initial disparity was in part due to the fact Democratic voters tend to be younger (thus earlier adopters). But older people, who skew Republican, have been quickly expanding their digital presence in the last two years and from a political perspective, 2008 and 2010 were worlds apart. The former saw a high level of engagement from Democrats thrilled about their presidential candidate, while the latter saw a much older, whiter, Tea Party-fueled electorate amped up to oust Pelosi et al. While the trend is toward more political social networking overall, enthusiasm seems to have erased the gap between parties for now.