Communications technology as symbols of institutional legitimacy in the U.S. congress

Fan Yin, Samantha McDonald, Melissa Mazmanian

Abstract: Low-cost forms of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) such as phone calls, e-mail, faxes, online town halls, constituent databases, and social media are thought to improve Congress’ ability to capture and be responsive to constituent views. However, scholarly work finds evidence that congressional offices do not use ICTs to effectively listen to constituent concerns. Rather, Members of Congress use such technologies primarily for one-way communication and self-promotion, indicating a clear disconnect between the expectations and realities of Congress adopting these technologies for responsive engagement. Using staff survey and interview data collected during ethnographic fieldwork, we find that this disconnect can be partially explained by institutional pressures and interpretations of responsive citizen engagement. Congress adopts ICTs as symbols of responsiveness by efficiently responding to constituents via form letters. The language of responsiveness touted by congressional offices allows staff to bridge public narrative and institutional practice by using the same word to promote different values in constituent engagement. This disconnect leads to a mismatch between the public’s expectations of how ICTs might influence communicative practices by elected officials and how such tools are used in practice.