Title: Differential roles of usage patterns of social networking sites in political learning

Authors: Chang Sup Park

Addresses: Department of Communication, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222, USA

Abstract: Drawing on a national survey of 1266 South Korean adults, this study finds that social networking sites (SNSs) use for news is positively associated with knowledge about political issues. However, uses of SNSs for social interaction or recreation are not linked to political knowledge. The present study also finds that political talk and news reflection strengthens the association of SNS use for news and knowledge about political issues. The findings suggest a theoretical implication that the association between SNS use and political knowledge is contingent upon usage patterns and political reasoning.

Keywords: SNSs; social networking sites; uses and gratifications; offline political talk; online political talk; news reflection; political knowledge.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2020.10023546

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2020 Vol.12 No.2, pp.190 - 208

Received: 19 Dec 2018
Accepted: 05 Aug 2019
Published online: 15 Sep 2020 *

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