Facebook Democracy

In 'Facebook Democracy,' José Marichal investigates how Facebook transformed political communication by publicizing intimate, friendship-based interactions and reshaping political group dynamics.

He studies political Facebook groups and shows how the platform facilitated bonding among like-minded users while undermining traditional deliberative political engagement.

The book argues that this reconfiguration of social ties and political interaction has important implications for coalition-building, public discourse, and democratic deliberation.

Marichal's early critique anticipated many concerns later associated with social media’s effects on polarization and civic life.

His empirical and theoretical approach laid groundwork for continued analysis of platform affordances and their broader political consequences.