Open Parliament Survey Report Open Parliament Survey Report ENG | Page 7

The results in the graph below depict the results excluding two surveys in which this question was left blank.

Advantages and disadvantages of new technologies

In response to a question structured in open response format, the parliamentarians surveyed noted their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies for the purpose of communicating with constituents. While it would be difficult to draw conclusions based on the small pool of respondents, several common observations emerged.

The majority of responses highlight the instantaneous flow of communication with constituents as the foremost advantage to new ICTs. Another broadly cited advantage is the greater depth and personalization of communication made possible between civil society and political parties, allowing constituents to be more informed and involved in processes that impact them.

Of the few respondents that mention disadvantages, these are related to inequitable access to digital communications, lack of knowledge of the identity of those posting content online (including fake accounts posing as parliamentarians), and parliamentarians’ lack of time to respond to inquiries. There was at least one parliamentarian surveyed per each of the subregions represented (North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean) who includes a negative point in their responses.

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