Selective exposure for better or worse: Its mediating role for online news’ impact on political participation.

S. Knobloch-Westerwick, B.K. Johnson

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The role of selective exposure in the relationship between online news use and political participation is examined. American adults (N = 205) completed a 2-session online study that measured political interest and online news use, unobtrusively observed selective exposure, and finally measured political participation likelihood. Online news use and selective exposure to attitude-consistent information were modeled as sequential mediators between political interest and participation likelihood. While greater political interest increased both participation likelihood and online news use, online news use ultimately depressed participation likelihood by reducing selective exposure to attitude-consistent news. The findings demonstrate that selective exposure is a fundamental process that must be considered when testing the effect of Internet use on political participation. © 2013 International Communication Association.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)184-196
JournalJournal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

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