Social Media as a Civic Mobilizer: Community Storytelling Network, Social Media, and Civic Engagement in South Korea

ABSTRACT

This study advances communication infrastructure theory by testing the effects of an integrated community storytelling network (ICSN) and social media as a newly emerging community storytelling agent on civic engagement. A nationwide survey in South Korea indicates that, while ICSN is a robust driving force for civic engagement, social media news use and social media news expression played a vital role in promoting collective efficacy as well as neighborhood belonging and online civic participation, respectively. In particular, social media news use moderated the effects of ICSN on offline and online civic participation. These findings suggest that social media as an emerging storytelling network in the CIT framework can play distinct yet selective roles in predicting civic engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Communication Infrastructure Theory
• integrated community storytelling network (ICSN)
• social media news use
• social media news expression
• civic engagement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Doo-Hun Choi

Doo-Hun Choi (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an Assistant Professor of Media and Communication at Sejong University. His research explores the role of new media in our society.

Seungahn Nah

Seungahn Nah (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) is Professor of Journalism and Media Studies in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. His research centers on the interrelationships among communication, community, and democracy with special emphasis on the roles of digital communication technologies in community and democratic processes and outcomes.

Deborah S. Chung

Deborah S. Chung (Ph.D., Indiana University-Bloomington) is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky. Her research investigates emergent information communication technologies and their impact on journalism practice, culture, and education, focusing on the interplay between communication professionals and their audiences.