Stumbling upon news on the Internet: Effects of incidental news exposure and relative entertainment use on political engagement |
| |
| Authors: | Yonghwan Kim,Hsuan-Ting Chen,Homero Gil de Zú ñ iga |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Telecommunication and Film, College of Communication and Information Sciences, The University of Alabama, United States;2. School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong;3. School of Journalism, College of Communication, The University of Texas at Austin, United States |
| |
| Abstract: | Contemporary concerns that the Internet might lead to political apathy are based on suggestions that people would use the Internet for entertainment purposes rather than news consumption. However, what if someone stumbles upon news when surfing the Internet? Would this incidental news exposure online be helpful in promoting citizens’ political engagement? This study tests whether and how incidental news exposure (INE) and relative entertainment use (REU) on the Internet are associated with political participation. Drawing from US national data, results revealed a significant and positive relationship between INE and offline and online political participation while REU was negatively associated with offline and online political participation. More importantly, the role of INE in facilitating citizens’ online political participation was stronger for those who consume less entertainment online, indicating that incidental news exposure may increase existing gaps in political participation between people who prefer news and people who prefer entertainment online. |
| |
| Keywords: | Internet Digital media Incidental news exposure Relative entertainment use Political engagement Gaps in political participation |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
