The contribution of social network sites to exposure to political difference: The relationships among SNSs, online political messaging, and exposure to cross-cutting perspectives

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Abstract

The increasing popularity of social network sites (SNSs) has raised questions about the role of social network media in the democratic process. This study explores how use of SNSs influences individuals' exposure to political difference. The findings show a positive and significant relationship between SNSs and exposure to challenging viewpoints, supporting the idea that SNSs contribute to individuals' exposure to cross-cutting political points of view. Partisanship was not found to interact with SNS use, suggesting that SNSs contribute to expanding exposure to dissimilar political views across individuals' partisanship. Online political messaging also has a direct effect on exposure to dissimilar viewpoints, and it mediates the association between SNSs and exposure to cross-cutting political views.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)971-977
Number of pages7
JournalComputers in Human Behavior
Volume27
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2011

Keywords

  • Exposure to cross-cutting viewpoints
  • Internet
  • Online political messaging
  • Political difference
  • Social network sites

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