Channels of communication and accountability in the digital age

For legislators, the digital age creates two major changes. On one hand, they can now connect directly with their voters without mediators such as TV or newspapers, but on the other hand, their actions become increasingly transparent. Are legislators adjusting to the new era? What does the public think? Most importantly, does the transparency that the digital era facilitates affect the accountability of legislators? Using questionnaires, we asked both Israeli voters and legislators about their perceptions regarding channels of communication and accountability. We found that the voters had low expectations of the legislators' accountability, but they did believe that they could use elections to reward or punish legislators. Furthermore, the voters used fewer traditional channels of communication to learn about the legislators’ activities, preferring the digital channels. In contrast, the legislators regarded themselves as very accountable but considered their colleagues to be less so. In addition, while some legislators make use of digital channels of communication, many still cling to the more traditional formats.