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Political communication researchers commonly use one of two strategies to measure online network diversity: a "subjective" approach tapping participants' impressions of the diversity in their networks, or a "structural" approach that asks about the socioeconomic position of individuals within their networks. While these measures are largely treated as functional equivalents in research about information technology and politics, we demonstrate that the two measures are only moderately correlated, and there are systematic differences in the reliability and validity of the two measures. We conclude that the structural measure is the better choice for most studies, although the subjective measure may be more appropriate in some cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some people live in social media "news deserts," while others are embedded in online networks that are rich in news content. These news deserts represent a new form of digital inequality—distinct from problems of access, resources, or civic skills—that could foreclose one of the ways social media are believed to contribute to informing citizens and engaging them in democratic processes: providing opportunities for incidental news exposure. This study investigates incidental exposure on social media platforms, drawing on an online survey administered just before the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493). The study finds that even after controlling for key individual-level factors, characteristics of social media discussion networks play a role in explaining variation in incidental exposure. The results are discussed in light of prevailing theory about incidental exposure, public engagement, and digital inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From time to time, some social media users avoid content posted by specific people in their networks. Most research on such selective avoidance has focused on individual motivations and other psychological factors rather than on social network characteristics, and there is a need for a systematic analysis of the relationships between individuals' social media networks and selective avoidance. This study fills that gap in the literature, drawing on theory about egocentric or personal publics. We test our predictions using data from three surveys of adults in the United States, collected just before each of the last three major national elections. Results are discussed in light of theory about the role of media technology in shaping political communication and scholarly discourse about how selective avoidance affects information flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inadvertency hypothesis predicts that people encounter political difference in social media spaces not by design, but rather as a by-product of social media's affordances and cultural logics. The hypothesis implies that incidental news exposure plays a central role in starting conversations from which perceived political disagreement may arise. Relying on a two-wave, online survey collected before and after the 2018 US Midterm Elections (N = 1493), this study builds on prior tests of the inadvertency hypothesis. It also elaborates on the hypothesis by comparing social media platforms. Results are supportive of the inadvertency hypothesis, more so for social networking sites such as Facebook than for other types of social media. Results are discussed in light of the study's contribution to literature on social media and democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the surface, it seems that journalists are more publicly accessible than ever before, largely thanks to the popular microblogging website/ app, Twitter. But determining who is interacting with journalists on Twitter is important in order to understand who benefits from these interactions. We argue that social capital provides a useful framework for understanding this phenomenon because it sheds light on the ways in which journalists are embedded in structures of formal and informal social connection, and it highlights social inclusion and exclusion in these processes. Relying on a two-wave, online survey collected before and after the 2018 Midterm Elections, we examine the relationship between social capital and interactions with journalists on Twitter. Results show that people with higher levels of social capital are more likely to interact with journalists, which can be interpreted as a form of social exclusion. Results are discussed in light of the role of journalism in fostering social connectivity and civic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process by which social media news use leads individuals to engage in attempted political persuasion, examining the mediating roles of cognitive elaboration, political knowledge, political efficacy and political interest. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies on a nationally representative two-wave online survey collected before the 2016 US Presidential Election. Serial mediation is tested using the PROCESS macro. Findings: The study finds significant indirect effects of social media news use on political persuasion via cognitive elaboration, political knowledge, political efficacy and political interest. Research limitations/implications: Causal inferences should be made with caution. While the measurement of cognitive elaboration is based on prior literature, it is a complex mental process that could be measured more directly in future research. Social implications: The findings imply that social media news use contributes to a potentially discursive environment in which cross-cutting views may drive argumentation. Thus, the study sheds light on how social media contribute to persuasive political conversation. Originality/value: The study applies the O-S-R-O-R model to political persuasion and highlights the processes of reflection, understanding and elaboration that convert news use into attempted persuasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing importance of social media for getting science news has raised questions about whether these online platforms foster or hinder public trust in science. Employing multilevel modeling, this study leverages a 20-country survey to examine the relationship between social media news use and trust in science. Results show a positive relationship between these variables across countries. Moreover, the between-country variation in this relationship is related to two cultural characteristics of a country, individualism/collectivism and power distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperpartisan news on social media presents new challenges for selective exposure theory. These challenges are substantial enough to usher in a new era--a third wave--of selective exposure research. In this essay, we trace the history of the first two waves of research in order to better understand the current situation. We then assess the implications of recent developments for selective exposure research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

News consumption in today's media environment is increasingly characterized by reliance on multiple platforms: People now get their news from the web, television, radio, and various social media. Employing a nationally representative survey from the United States, this study develops an index of multi-platform news use. The index is validated by testing age group differences in the way people participate in politics. Results show that Millennials are more likely to rely on multiple platforms for news. Multi-platform news is also positively related to alternative modes of political engagement. Results are discussed in light of generational shifts in political behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second screening is a relatively new set of media practices that arguably empower audiences to shape public narratives alongside news organizations and political elites. But in developing countries such as Colombia, it is important to examine who participates in this process, as substantial inequalities in both access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) persist. This study examines how socioeconomic status (SES) relates to the adoption of second screening practices in Colombia, a country in which the technological access and literacy necessary to engage in these practices are becoming widespread but are not yet ubiquitous. Based on a random sample of face-to-face interviews, results show evidence of persistent digital divides in Colombia in terms of ICT access, ICT use, and second screening for news. Additionally, results indicate that the relationship between SES and second screening for news is indirect, mediated through technological access and public affairs engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media and news use arguably contribute to the prevalence of contentious politics because individuals may express dissent through their social networks as they consume news. This study seeks to test whether individuals might be more open to political persuasion in this context, especially if they are exposed to political disagreement or discuss politics in a civil manner. Relying on survey data from the UK, results based on a moderated moderation model show that (a) social media news use predicts political persuasion on social media (direct effects) and, (b) discussion disagreement and civil reasoning moderate this relationship in two-way and three-way interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the United States, research shows a positive relationship between network heterogeneity and political expression on social media at the individual level. This study builds on that research, relying on multilevel analysis that (1) leverages a twenty-country comparative survey and (2) includes country-level data on freedom of expression. Results show a positive relationship between network heterogeneity and political expression on social media across countries, but that relationship is stronger where freedom of expression is more limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One thriving area of research on participatory media revolves around political expression and the creation of political content. This study analyzes the connections between these behaviors, heterogeneous information networks, and ideological extremity while accounting for the role of emotional intelligence. Results from a two-wave-panel survey of US adults show that people who engage in content-expressive behavior are embedded in heterogeneous information networks and that emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between content-expressive behavior and ideological extremity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines exposure to political disagreement on social media and user filtration in response to it. Popular arguments suggest that social media sites prevent exposure to political disagreement either through algorithmic filtration or selective affiliation. Another popular argument says that when users are exposed to political disagreement on social media, they filter it from their feeds by “unfriending”/“unfollowing” or “hiding” the author. We put these narratives to the test by examining (a) the relationship between social media use and exposure to political disagreement and (b) the factors that predict user filtration in response to political disagreement. Results from analysis based on a nationally representative sample of Colombian adults in urban areas show that (a) engagement with news and public affairs content on social media is positively associated with exposure to political disagreement and (b) the amount of disagreement users are exposed to is not related to user filtration in response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates political disagreement on social media in comparison to face-to-face and anonymous online settings. Because of the structure of social relationships and the social norms that influence expression, it is hypothesized that people perceive more political disagreement in social media settings versus face-to-face and anonymous online settings. Analyses of an online survey of adults in the United States show that (a) social media users perceive more political disagreement than non-users, (b) they perceive more of it on social media than in other communication settings, and (c) news use on social media is positively related to perceived disagreement on social media. Results are discussed in light of their implications for current debates about the contemporary public sphere and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pursuit of a healthier and participatory democracy, scholars have long established the positive effects of social capital, values derived from resources embedded in social ties with others which characterize the structure of opportunity and action in communities. Today, social media afford members of digital communities the ability to relate in new ways. In these contexts, the question that arises is whether new forms of social capital associated with the use of social media are a mere extension of traditional social capital or if they are in fact a different construct with a unique and distinct palette of attributes and effects. This study introduces social media social capital as a new conceptual and empirical construct to complement face-to-face social capital. Based on a two-wave panel data set collected in the United States, this study tests whether social capital in social media and offline settings are indeed two distinct empirical constructs. Then, the article examines how these two modes of social capital may relate to different types of citizenship online and offline. Results show that social media social capital is empirically distinct from face-to-face social capital. In addition, the two constructs exhibit different patterns of effects over online and offline political participatory behaviors. Results are discussed in light of theoretical developments in the area of social capital and pro-democratic political engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining whether and how social media networks expose individuals to political disagreement is critical to understanding how individuals experience civil society in the digital age. Recent research from the United States and Europe shows that, all else equal, heavy social media users are exposed to more political disagreement on social media than light users. The present study seeks to elaborate on these findings in the context of Colombia. In doing so, it adds depth to existing theory about social media and political disagreement by outlining a process for how social media use results in exposure to disagreement and the role played by news. Results from path analysis show that (a) news use on social media acts as a link between general use and disagreement and (b) political engagement mediates the relationship between news use and disagreement. Results are discussed in light of existing literature and possibilities for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrective action hypothesis predicts that hostile media perceptions and presumed media influence will be positively related to expressive political behaviors. According to this hypothesis, the presumed influence of biased media makes people attempt to “correct” perceived “wrongs” by voicing their own opinions in the public sphere. This study predicts that people with higher levels of hostile media perceptions and presumed media influence will talk politics more often and will seek out a wider array of viewpoints in political conversation. Analysis of survey data from a national representative sample of adults in Colombia largely supports these hypotheses, and also shows that presumed media influence mediates the relationship between hostile media perceptions and political talk diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Social media facilitate connections to geographically dispersed social ties. • Geographic mobility related to geographic difference in discussion. • Geographic difference facilitates relationship with political difference in discussion. • Social media users who frequently move encounter more political difference in discussion. Prevalent theory explaining why and how people encounter political difference on social media platforms ascribes an important role for weakened geographic boundaries. Yet, research has yet to test the role of geography in producing these encounters. This study fills that gap in the literature by testing the proposition that the more a person moves, the more political difference they will encounter on social media platforms. To do so, the study offers a constructive critique and amendment of theory to incorporate geographic mobility and geographic difference in political discussion. Then, drawing on a national online survey sample reflecting the target population of adult internet users in the United States (N = 1493), it uses confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the relationships between these variables and other dimensions of difference in political discussion on social media platforms. Results show geographic mobility is indirectly related to political difference through geographic difference. Results are discussed in light of their implications for our understanding of how media technologies contribute to political communication in contemporary American society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Social media use is positively associated with perceived hate speech. • Results are mixed for mobile messaging apps and online message boards. • Perceived hate speech is associated with avoidance of political talk over time. Social media platforms have been accused of spreading hate speech. The goal of this study is to test the widespread belief that social media platforms have a high level of hate speech in the eyes of survey respondents. Secondarily, the study also tests the idea that encountering perceived hate speech is related to avoiding political talk. The study analyzes data from a two-wave online survey (N = 1493) conducted before and after the 2018 U.S. Midterm Elections, and it estimates perceived exposure to hate speech across multiple venues: face-to-face, social media, mobile messaging applications, and anonymous online message boards. Results show that (a) respondents report higher levels of hate speech on social media in comparison to face-to-face communication and (b) there is a positive relationship between perceived exposure to hate speech and avoidance of political talk. Results are discussed in light of public conversations about hate speech on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPolitical expression has flourished online, especially on social media platforms, but there are also participation gaps associated with long-standing social and digital inequalities including socio-demographics, political capital, and internet practices. In this study, we examine how network characteristics such as size and diversity contribute to gaps in online political expression and content creation, as well as whether they mediate the stratificational effects of antecedent factors. We test these possibilities using data from a two-wave panel survey of adult internet users in the United States collected just before and after the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Our findings show relatively wide participation gaps associated with network diversity, which also mediates the influence of political interest and digital news use. We argue that more attention should be paid to network inequalities in online participation, particularly whether they arise from fundamentally unfair social conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]