There already exist communication mechanisms more nuanced than signing a petition. You can call or write/email your legislator with more nuanced views. The barrier is not the effort to communicate (which under this proposal might be slightly lower) but the effort to evaluate the issue and come up with a nuanced position.
This is true, and it is very fair to bring up that a nuanced communication pathway does currently exist; however, it is arguably not an effective mechanism. I am skeptical of how “listened to” people who write to their legislator truly feel. Gratification from this act will likely be unreliable and highly delayed. Thus, the main barrier is not so much the effort to communicate, although I certainly don’t think that this is a non-trivial factor, but the experience derived from such communication. In an app or website, there could be a level of immediate gratification and challenge from interaction with one’s peers. This should make the process feel less isolating, and the knowledge that your viewpoints will be directly incorporated into a potential briefing paper alongside a community of others with similar beliefs provides a very different user experience than sending an email or letter. I want to note that I certainly agree with you that much of the barrier is the effort needed to critically evaluate an issue, but I would argue that the apathy, malaise, and tribalism preventing this effort are caused by a sense of political isolation, thus fixing the communication pathways may allow for a feedback loop of ever greater engagement.
There already exist communication mechanisms more nuanced than signing a petition. You can call or write/email your legislator with more nuanced views. The barrier is not the effort to communicate (which under this proposal might be slightly lower) but the effort to evaluate the issue and come up with a nuanced position.
This is true, and it is very fair to bring up that a nuanced communication pathway does currently exist; however, it is arguably not an effective mechanism. I am skeptical of how “listened to” people who write to their legislator truly feel. Gratification from this act will likely be unreliable and highly delayed. Thus, the main barrier is not so much the effort to communicate, although I certainly don’t think that this is a non-trivial factor, but the experience derived from such communication. In an app or website, there could be a level of immediate gratification and challenge from interaction with one’s peers. This should make the process feel less isolating, and the knowledge that your viewpoints will be directly incorporated into a potential briefing paper alongside a community of others with similar beliefs provides a very different user experience than sending an email or letter. I want to note that I certainly agree with you that much of the barrier is the effort needed to critically evaluate an issue, but I would argue that the apathy, malaise, and tribalism preventing this effort are caused by a sense of political isolation, thus fixing the communication pathways may allow for a feedback loop of ever greater engagement.