Social Media and Online Political Engagement in China and the U.S.

• In Event: Poster Session: Predicting Political Preferences & Civic Engagement
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Civic Engagement

Abstract

Given the wide adoption of social media platforms which has altered how people consume and share political information around the globe, the relationship between social media use and patterns of civic engagement in the digital era has been a study subject for social scientists. Grounded on the Orientation-Stimuli-Reasoning-Orientation-Response (O-S-R-O-R) communication effect model, this study comparatively examines the effects of social media use for political information on people’s online political participation in China and the United States and tests if political discussion and political satisfaction mediate the relationship in the communication process. This study adopts the Structural Equation Modeling method with model fit tests to reveal and compare the interactive effects among the key variables for both samples. The statistical results suggest that social media use for political information is positively associated with online political actions, and similarities in the roles that political discussion and attitude play are identified in these two countries. The findings fail the western liberal expectation that social media becomes the digital tool for democratization in authoritarian countries. We challenge some previous empirical studies which are based on the same analytical framework, and future studies are expected to check the validity. Contributing to the existing literature, this country-specific comparative study is the first attempt to compare the impact of social media use on online political participation in China and the United States, and we call for more attention to this research topic in a broader context of democratic and authoritarian deliberation across countries in the increasingly digitalized world.

Authors

• Lin Song, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

• Danning Zhao, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen