ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the increased use of digital streaming television shaped both the frequency and tenor of political talk during the 2016 campaign, specifically investigating the role of social trust as a moderating variable. It offers a distinct contribution to the body of literature on media and political engagement due to the emergent nature of the medium; streaming television offers unique affordances, including on-demand, algorithmically determined personalized content, representing both a departure from and convergence of social media and traditional television. The chapter shifts away from a general conception of civic participation and focuses rather on political talk exclusively to understand the extent to which streaming television consumption may contribute to the body of literature on media's intersection with and contribution to engagement with the public sphere. Since the emergence of television, researchers have examined the relationship between television consumption and political engagement with mixed findings.
