TY - JOUR
T1 - News finds me perception and democracy
T2 - Effects on political knowledge, political interest, and voting
AU - Gil de Zúñiga, Homero
AU - Diehl, Trevor
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - Recent scholarship suggests that overreliance on social networks for news and public affairs is associated with the belief that one no longer needs to actively seek information. Instead, individuals perceive that the “news will find me” (NFM) and detach from the regular habit of traditional news consumption. This study examines effects of the NFM perception on political knowledge, political interest, and electoral participation. Drawing on a nationally representative panel survey from the United States (N = 997), this study finds that the NFM perception is negatively associated with both political knowledge and political interest across two time periods. The NFM perception also leads to negative, indirect effects on voting as the relationship is mediated through lower reported levels of political knowledge and interest in politics. The findings add to current conversations about the ability of personalized information networks to adequately inform and engage the public.
AB - Recent scholarship suggests that overreliance on social networks for news and public affairs is associated with the belief that one no longer needs to actively seek information. Instead, individuals perceive that the “news will find me” (NFM) and detach from the regular habit of traditional news consumption. This study examines effects of the NFM perception on political knowledge, political interest, and electoral participation. Drawing on a nationally representative panel survey from the United States (N = 997), this study finds that the NFM perception is negatively associated with both political knowledge and political interest across two time periods. The NFM perception also leads to negative, indirect effects on voting as the relationship is mediated through lower reported levels of political knowledge and interest in politics. The findings add to current conversations about the ability of personalized information networks to adequately inform and engage the public.
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U2 - 10.1177/1461444818817548
DO - 10.1177/1461444818817548
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85059484854
SN - 1461-4448
VL - 21
SP - 1253
EP - 1271
JO - New Media and Society
JF - New Media and Society
IS - 6
ER -