The knowledge gap on social media: Examining roles of engagement and networks

Autor:	Wenbo Li, Hyunyi Cho
Rok vydání:	2021
Předmět:	Sociology and Political Science Knowledge gap hypothesis business.industry Communication Health knowledge Social media Sociology Network composition Public relations Network density business Mass media
Zdroj:	New Media & Society. 25:1023-1042
ISSN:	1461-7315 1461-4448
DOI:	10.1177/14614448211009488
Popis:	The knowledge gap hypothesis predicts that information inequity will be amplified rather than attenuated by the media. Previous research has focused on the role of mass media exposure and has not examined the roles of social media and social networks in mitigating the gap. This study investigated the potential moderating roles of social media engagement, social networks, and the interaction between engagement and online and offline networks. Hypotheses were tested with data from a national sample survey ( N = 991) concerning political and health knowledge. More social media engagement predicted a smaller knowledge gap in the political domain but not the health domain. More diverse and denser social media networks predicted a smaller political, but not health, knowledge gap. Social media engagement interacted with mixed-media relationships to predict the political knowledge gap. More engagement with mixed-media relationships was associated with a smaller political knowledge gap.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::c1a9051d1bb83b54fa8ab0b868113d50 https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211009488 Zobrazit plný text záznamu