TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of the News-Finds-Me Perception in Communication
T2 - Social Media Use Implications for News Seeking and Learning About Politics
AU - Gil de Zúñiga, Homero
AU - Weeks, Brian
AU - Ardèvol-Abreu, Alberto
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 International Communication Association
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/5
Y1 - 2017/5
N2 - With social media at the forefront of today's media context, citizens may perceive they don't need to actively seek news because they will be exposed to news and remain well-informed through their peers and social networks. We label this the “news-finds-me perception,” and test its implications for news seeking and political knowledge: “news-finds-me effects.” U.S. panel-survey data show that individuals who perceive news will find them are less likely to use traditional news sources and are less knowledgeable about politics over time. Although the news-finds-me perception is positively associated with news exposure on social media, this behavior doesn't facilitate political learning. These results suggest news continues to enhance political knowledge best when actively sought.
AB - With social media at the forefront of today's media context, citizens may perceive they don't need to actively seek news because they will be exposed to news and remain well-informed through their peers and social networks. We label this the “news-finds-me perception,” and test its implications for news seeking and political knowledge: “news-finds-me effects.” U.S. panel-survey data show that individuals who perceive news will find them are less likely to use traditional news sources and are less knowledgeable about politics over time. Although the news-finds-me perception is positively associated with news exposure on social media, this behavior doesn't facilitate political learning. These results suggest news continues to enhance political knowledge best when actively sought.
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U2 - 10.1111/jcc4.12185
DO - 10.1111/jcc4.12185
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85017569818
VL - 22
SP - 105
EP - 123
JO - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
JF - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
SN - 1083-6101
IS - 3
ER -