A Galaxy of Apps: How Reliance on Mobile Apps for News Influences Political Trust, Discussion, and Participation

• In Event: Internet Access and Digital Media Influences on Participation

Abstract

With the creation of apps, mobile phones have morphed into information devices. The power of apps was unleashed in 2011 when they were first used to mobilize protesters and gain support for political movements in the U.S. and abroad. Mobile devices have since become a bedrock of political activism. To examine the influence of app reliance on political participation, this study’s path model extends the Campaign Communication Mediation Model by: 1) testing direct and indirect effects of apps on online and offline participation, 2) using media trust and offline and online discussion as cognitive elaboration variables and, 3) testing whether cognitive elaboration mediates the influence of reliance on apps on offline and online political participation. Results suggest that relying on apps boosts political discussion, which in turns leads to political participation. Moreover, online discussion is a stronger predictor than offline discussion, as well as a more effective mediator.

Authors

• Tom Johnson, University of Texas at Austin

• Barbara K Kaye, U of Tennessee - Knoxville

• Magdalena Saldana, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile