Is Social Media Really to Blame? Young Adults, News Media, and Political and Civic Engagement

• In Event: 20220 - Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Section on Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Roundtable VII: Social Media III

Abstract

Although news media are a widely referenced influencer of social behavior, its relationship with young adults’ political and civic engagement remains unclear. Additionally, our current hybrid media environment complicates taken-for-granted categories like “new” and “traditional” media by blurring what distinguishes them. Attempts to capture media hybridity have yielded increasingly sophisticated and potentially useful typologies for defining contemporary news media, such as categorizing media based on its producers. However, producer-focused approaches remain limited in their ability to speak to the role of audience agency—like the information seeking behavior of young adults. Studying audience behavior (i.e., the “audience turn”) better captures the role of agency by exploring how people interact with their news sources. In this paper, we argue for an alternative approach that analyzes the effects of media in terms of the audience: looking at differences when comparing media that is algorithmically curated in contrast to those intentionally sought. We use survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. residents ages 18 to 29. Using conducted analyses of covariance to examine the effect of primary news media on both intended political and civic engagement in the next year. Thus far, we have found there is a meaningful, statistically significant relationship—showing that young adults who intentionally seek news media are on average more likely to report political and civic engagement. This relationship holds across various control variables, including political ideology, education, gender, and race.

Authors

• Grant Bailey

• Levi Mitzen, Florida State University

• Kyle Rose, Florida State University

• Yuki Proulx Maynor, Florida State University

• Deana Rohlinger, Florida State University

• Ashby Plant