Democrats who use Twitter are more likely to identify as liberal and are less inclined to find common ground with Republicans than their party counterparts who do not use the social media platform, according to a Pew Research Center study released Monday.
Based on a poll conducted in January, 34 percent of Democrats on Twitter identify as liberal and 22 percent as very liberal, compared to 29 percent and 12 percent of Democrats off Twitter who describe themselves the same way, respectively.
Pew found that 45 percent of Democrats on Twitter say that a presidential candidate should focus on promoting pro-Left policies, even at the expense of bipartisanship and the viability of execution, compared to 34 percent of those off Twitter who feel the same way.
A breakdown of support for Democratic nominees also shows distinctions between supporters on Twitter versus those who are off. Former vice president Joe Biden — who polls well among older demographics — has the largest support of those off Twitter with 26 percent, while progressives Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren receive high levels of on-Twitter support with 29 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
A Pew study from 2018 found that Liberal Democrats are more likely than any other group to be politically active on social media.
The study showed a sharp age divide, with 74 percent of liberal Democrats ages 18 to 49 reporting to have participated in one of five activities regarding political speech on social media — a figure that doubled the share of conservative Republicans in the same age bracket. Among those 50 and older, the divide narrowed to slightly favor Democrats, 55 to 48 percent.