Does media credibility perception matter?: The impacts of social media use and online forum use on attitude polarization

Y. Wu; F. Shen; C. Xia

Does media credibility perception matter? The impacts of social media use and online forum use on attitude polarization

Department of Media and Communication

Research output: Conference Papers › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (without host publication) › peer-review

Abstract

To understand the social impacts of news feed algorithm, we compare the impact of Facebook use and discussion forum use on people’s political attitudes using a representative sample (N=1632) of Hong Kong residents. Contrary to our intuition, the results show that social media use (Facebook) decreases attitude polarization, while online forum use increases such polarization. In addition, we find perception of online network sites credibility moderates the relationship between social media use and polarization, as well as relationship between online forum use and polarization. Although we cannot pinpoint the reasons for the pattern we observed, the counterintuitive findings could be possibly explained by the demographic features of Hong Kong Facebook users or by the mechanism of selective exposure.

Original language	English
Publication status	Published - May 2019
Event	69th Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA19): Communication Beyond Boundaries - Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, United States Duration: 24 May 2019 → 28 May 2019 https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.icahdq.org/resource/resmgr/conference/2019/2019printprogram.pdf https://www.icahdq.org/page/2019Conference https://www.icahdq.org/general/custom.asp?page=2019Conference

Conference

Conference	69th Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA19)
Abbreviated title	ICA19
Place	United States
City	Washington
Period	24/05/19 → 28/05/19
Internet address	https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.icahdq.org/resource/resmgr/conference/2019/2019printprogram.pdf https://www.icahdq.org/page/2019Conference https://www.icahdq.org/general/custom.asp?page=2019Conference

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title = "Does media credibility perception matter?: The impacts of social media use and online forum use on attitude polarization",

abstract = "To understand the social impacts of news feed algorithm, we compare the impact of Facebook use and discussion forum use on people{\textquoteright}s political attitudes using a representative sample (N=1632) of Hong Kong residents. Contrary to our intuition, the results show that social media use (Facebook) decreases attitude polarization, while online forum use increases such polarization. In addition, we find perception of online network sites credibility moderates the relationship between social media use and polarization, as well as relationship between online forum use and polarization. Although we cannot pinpoint the reasons for the pattern we observed, the counterintuitive findings could be possibly explained by the demographic features of Hong Kong Facebook users or by the mechanism of selective exposure.",

author = "Y. Wu and F. Shen and C. Xia",

note = "Research Unit(s) information for this publication is provided by the author(s) concerned; 69th Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA19) : Communication Beyond Boundaries, ICA19 ; Conference date: 24-05-2019 Through 28-05-2019",

year = "2019",

month = may,

language = "English",

url = "https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.icahdq.org/resource/resmgr/conference/2019/2019printprogram.pdf, https://www.icahdq.org/page/2019Conference, https://www.icahdq.org/general/custom.asp?page=2019Conference",

}

Does media credibility perception matter? The impacts of social media use and online forum use on attitude polarization. / Wu, Y.; Shen, F.; Xia, C.
2019. Paper presented at 69th Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA19), Washington, United States.

Research output: Conference Papers › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (without host publication) › peer-review

TY - CONF

T1 - Does media credibility perception matter?

T2 - 69th Annual International Communication Association Conference (ICA19)

AU - Wu, Y.

AU - Shen, F.

AU - Xia, C.

N1 - Research Unit(s) information for this publication is provided by the author(s) concerned

PY - 2019/5

Y1 - 2019/5

N2 - To understand the social impacts of news feed algorithm, we compare the impact of Facebook use and discussion forum use on people’s political attitudes using a representative sample (N=1632) of Hong Kong residents. Contrary to our intuition, the results show that social media use (Facebook) decreases attitude polarization, while online forum use increases such polarization. In addition, we find perception of online network sites credibility moderates the relationship between social media use and polarization, as well as relationship between online forum use and polarization. Although we cannot pinpoint the reasons for the pattern we observed, the counterintuitive findings could be possibly explained by the demographic features of Hong Kong Facebook users or by the mechanism of selective exposure.

AB - To understand the social impacts of news feed algorithm, we compare the impact of Facebook use and discussion forum use on people’s political attitudes using a representative sample (N=1632) of Hong Kong residents. Contrary to our intuition, the results show that social media use (Facebook) decreases attitude polarization, while online forum use increases such polarization. In addition, we find perception of online network sites credibility moderates the relationship between social media use and polarization, as well as relationship between online forum use and polarization. Although we cannot pinpoint the reasons for the pattern we observed, the counterintuitive findings could be possibly explained by the demographic features of Hong Kong Facebook users or by the mechanism of selective exposure.

M3 - RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (without host publication)

Y2 - 24 May 2019 through 28 May 2019

ER -