Positive, Negative or Null Effects? A Panel Study on Political Learning From Social Media

• In Event: Influences on Political Knowledge and Learning

Abstract

Evidence on the effects of using Facebook, Twitter and other social media on political knowledge is mixed, with studies showing positive, negative, and insignificant results. Thus, more work is needed on the mechanisms by which social media influences learning. Here, we test the proposition that social media use is positively related to knowledge when there is incidental exposure, but negatively related to it when actual news seeking is weakened as a consequence of the “news finds me” perception (i.e., the feeling of being informed simply by using social media). By means of a two-wave panel survey of a U.S. sample (N = 1,021), we find that, in line with work on the “illusion of knowledge,” any learning effect of incidental news exposure on social platforms is canceled due to the unwarranted perception of being well informed by relying on one’s online networks. We close by discussing theoretical and practical implications.

Authors

• Sebastian Valenzuela, Pontificia U Catolica de Chile

• Ingrid Bachmann, Pontificia U Catolica de Chile

• Homero Gil de Zuniga