Does Online News Reading and Sharing Shape Perceptions of the Internet as a Place for Public Deliberations?

Abstract

With the rapid development of interactive communication technology, the Internet is a major source of news and also plays an important role in connecting individual members of society. However, Internet users may have different perspectives on whether the Internet positively functions as a medium for public deliberation. Based on the assumption that being exposed to information on public affairs is a crucial step for one's civic engagement, this study explores how individuals’ motives related to news consumption, elaborative online news reading, and online news sharing influence their perceptions of online deliberation using structural equation modeling method (N = 998). The study finds significant relationships between news consumption motives and elaborative news reading and sharing behaviors, but only elaborative reading behavior had a significant effect on one's perceptions of online deliberation. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Notes

¹For more information about the company, visit http://www.koreanclick.com/english/

Note. Gender (male = 0; female = 1) is a dummy-coded variable. N = 998.

*p < .05. **p < .01.

**p < .01. ***p < .001.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hyunjin Kang

Hyunjin Kang (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, 2013) is a Ph.D. student in the College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research explores psychological and social effects of new media technologies.

Jeong Kyu Lee

Jeong Kyu Lee (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, 2010) is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Initiatives at University of Wollongong, Australia. His research interests include health communication, social marketing, and media effects.

Kyung Han You

Kyung Han You (ABD, The Pennsylvania State University) is a Visiting Fellow at Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Harvard University. His research interest includes critical media & entertainment studies, transnational media studies, East Asian pop culture, information society and political communication.

Seoyeon Lee

Seoyeon Lee (M.A., The Pennsylvania State University) is a UI/UX Researcher at LG Electronic Inc. She has a Master's degree from the College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University.