New research reveals why Slovakia is among the most closed information environments in Europe
Slovak society shows the highest level of retreat into information bubbles among six European countries. New research from the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University in Bratislava demonstrates that political polarization in Slovakia is not driven solely by social media or algorithms, but primarily by strong psychological bonds that voters form with political leaders. This phenomenon, known as a parasocial reltionship, leads voters to perceive criticism of a politician as a personal attack on a close friend, causing them to reject any opposing views.
The project was conducted by experts from the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University in Bratislava, who analyzed the relationships between social media use, the intensity of psychological attachment to political leaders, and selective avoidance of dissonant information across six EU countries (Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the Czech Republic), based on a total sample of 2,404 respondents.
According to one of the study’s authors, Dr. Pavol Baboš from the Department of Sociology:
“One of the key findings is that social media do not automatically lead to the formation of information bubbles. Selective exposure emerges only after an emotional and cognitive bond with a political leader is formed. Social media allow politicians to appear personal, spontaneous, and authentic—content that people naturally interpret as ‘personal contact.’ This deepens the sense of familiarity and trust, even though the relationship is one-sided.”
Slovakia as the country with the highest selective exposure
One of the most striking findings concerns Slovakia. A comparison with Sweden, Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic shows that Slovak respondents consistently achieve the highest levels of selective exposure across all voter groups.
In Slovakia, the selective exposure index reached 54 points, significantly higher than in countries such as Sweden (40) or Germany (39). This indicates that the Slovak information environment is highly fragmented and polarized, with citizens showing a strong tendency to follow only ideologically aligned media.
Interestingly, the most closed group is not the voters of the prime minister’s party, but rather voters of smaller coalition parties. These voters demonstrate the highest tendency to ignore conflicting information, likely because they feel a stronger need to “defend” their political choice within the context of the governing coalition.
“Our data show that in Slovakia there is no group that is ‘immune’ to information bubbles. A high level of closure is observed not only among government supporters but also among opposition voters. We are witnessing a double fragmentation, where both camps do not listen to each other and actively avoid confrontation with opposing views,” explains Pavol Baboš.
The politician as a “Facebook friend”
The study also offers an explanation for why this occurs. The key lies in the phenomenon of parasocial relationships (PSR)—a one-sided psychological bond in which a voter feels they personally know, understand, and trust a politician as if they were a friend.
Social media significantly amplify this effect. Politicians now bypass journalists and communicate directly with people from their living rooms, in casual clothing and informal language. This strategy of “mediated authenticity” creates an illusion of intimacy.
The data confirm that the more frequently people follow politics on social media, the stronger this sense of closeness to a leader becomes. For example, supporters of Robert Fico in Slovakia score extremely high on this relationship index (69 points), while opposition voters show almost no such connection to coalition leaders (17 points).
Technology is not to blame - our emotions are
One of the study’s most important theoretical contributions challenges the myth that polarization is caused solely by “bad algorithms.” The research confirms that simply using Facebook or Instagram does not automatically lead to informational closure. It is the emotional bond that changes how people process information.
“Technology is just a tool. The real driver of polarization is emotion. Once you begin to perceive a politician as someone close to you, a defensive mechanism is activated in your brain. You subconsciously start ignoring or rejecting critical information about them because you perceive it as an attack on someone you care about,” the research report states.
Why facts don’t work
These findings have significant implications for how we understand political communication today. If trust in a politician is built on feelings of friendship and intimacy, rational arguments and fact-checking lose their effectiveness.
For voters, it is psychologically easier to reject a true but uncomfortable piece of information than to “betray” their preferred leader. In an environment where politics becomes a competition for the strongest emotional bond, discussions about policies and solutions become secondary.
Slovakia thus finds itself in a situation where breaking through information bubbles is extremely difficult, as they are protected by a strong armor of emotion and loyalty.
Implications for democracy: arguments are not enough
Researchers from the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University warn that strong parasocial ties can significantly hinder efforts to correct misinformation or reduce polarization. If a person perceives a politician as a “friend,” any critical statement may be interpreted as a personal attack.
This reduces the effectiveness of fact-checking and encourages “defensive processing,” where information is evaluated not based on its content, but on who delivers it.
About the project
The research was conducted at the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University in Bratislava as part of the TRUMED (Trust in Media in the Digital Age) project, which builds on the European project TRUEDEM. Its aim is to monitor factors influencing trust in political institutions and media in the digital era. The project was funded by the European Union under the NextGenerationEU programme.