Citizen Perceptions of The European Union: The Impact of the EU W ...

structuring existing research, Morris and Ogan (1996) identified four categories of research examining different forms of online communication: 1. one-to-one asynchronous communication (e.g., emails); 2. many-to-many asynchronous communication (e.g., list servers); 3. synchronous communication (including one-to-one, one-to-few, and many-to-many, e.g., multi-user dungeons or chat rooms); and 4. asynchronous communication characterised by user needs (e.g., FTP, Web pages). What is unique to the Internet is that all of these different forms of communication can be performed at the same time, and that this, as many scholars have noted (Burgoon et al., 2000; Castells, 1996; Walther & Burgoon, 1992), may be done independent of time or space restrictions. Thus, already in this categorisation, the changing roles of users and communicators become clear. Through the Internet, communication no longer requires the strict differentiation between the two; or rather, it fosters their becoming increasingly interchangeable. Especially in light of the study at hand, the fact that the distinction between information user and provider ceases to exist is of particular interest, as this clearly underlines the necessity for analysing both users and communicators within the same theoretical framework.

2.2. The Duality of Users and Producers

Recognising the possibility of this shift is one of the key points for understanding online communication.¹³ This can include both communication that has a certain direction or audience, for example, a Web site selling books, or a government addressing its citizens; or dialogical communication that resembles a two-way interaction, as in chat rooms. As both options are available on the Internet and may even be employed simultaneously, Schneider and Foot (2004) argued that the co-productive nature of the Internet entails the duality of users and communicators. Or, as Singer (1998) pointed out, new media obscure the line between sender and receiver. In comparison to traditional mass media, the production and distribution, or at least presentation of information, has become cheaper; less dependent on specific regulations, production mechanisms,