| 1. |
- Andersen, Kim, et al.
(author)
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Selective news avoidance: consistency and temporality
- 2024
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In: Communication Research. - 0093-6502.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Can news avoidance be considered a stable personal “trait,” adhering to a specific group of consistent news avoiders, or is it rather a volatile “state” reflecting temporal variations in audience practices? Based on a five-wave panel survey collected in Sweden during the coronavirus pandemic, we show that selective avoidance of news about the pandemic varies both between persons, representing consistency, and within persons, representing temporality. Drawing on the information utility model, we additionally show that both dimensions are related to audience preferences, specifically news interest, news media trust, and societal concerns. These results illustrate that the practice of selective news avoidance is not restricted to a specific group of people with limited news use but also represents a more fluid audience behavior of adjusting news consumption patterns in response to individual and contextual changes. However, as the correlates of the two dimensions are similar, the results stress the polarizing potential of news avoidance in democracy.
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| 2. |
- Dimnitrova, Daniela, et al.
(author)
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The Effects of Digital Media on Political Knowledge and Participation in Election Campaigns : Evidence from Panel Data
- 2014
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In: Communication Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 0093-6502 .- 1552-3810. ; 41:1, s. 95-118
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While the majority of previous research suggests there are positive relationships between digital media use and political participation and knowledge, most studies have relied on cross-sectional surveys and have thus not been able to firmly establish the chain of causality. Also, there is little research investigating use of different forms of digital media and their relative effects on political participation and knowledge. This study examines (a) the effects of digital media use on political participation and knowledge and (b) whether different forms of digital media use affect people differently. Drawing on two representative panel surveys, the study demonstrates that there are only weak effects of digital media use on political learning, but that the use of some digital media forms has appreciable effects on political participation.
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| 3. |
- Ekström, Mats, et al.
(author)
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Information, interaction and creative production : The effects of three forms of Internet use on youth democratic engagement
- 2015
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In: Communication Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 0093-6502 .- 1552-3810. ; 42:6, s. 796-818
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examines the effects of informational, interactional and creative forms of Internet use on behavioral and cognitive indicators of youth democratic engagement. Data from an extensive two-wave panel survey of Swedish adolescents (N = 1,520) were examined. Results show that the effects of informational and interactional Internet use on political participation are indirect, with online political interactions acting as an intervening variable. In addition, creative production was found to be a direct positive predictor of online and offline political participation, but negatively related to political knowledge. The effects were statistically significant even when accounting for self-selection and previous levels of democratic engagement. Taken together, these findings contribute novel theoretical insights into the mechanisms by which Internet use may encourage or hinder youths’ democratic engagement.
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| 4. |
- Shehata, Adam, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Developing Self-Actualizing and Dutiful Citizens: Testing the AC-DC Model Using Panel Data Among Adolescents
- 2016
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In: Communication Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 0093-6502 .- 1552-3810. ; 43:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One of the major issues facing contemporary democracies is how the rapidly changing media environment influences democratic citizenship. Rather than strengthening or weakening citizenship per se, the present study analyzes whether traditional news and interactive online media encourage different forms of civic and political engagement among adolescents. More specifically, we use three waves of annually gathered panel data to study Swedish adolescents’ development of self-actualizing (AC) and dutiful (DC) citizen qualities. Overall, the analyses lend support for the AC-DC model, and suggest that communicative practices matter. While traditional news media use is related to DC qualities—such as institutional participation, political trust, and external efficacy—interactive online media use promotes AC qualities, including both online and offline cause-oriented activism.
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| 5. |
- Shehata, Adam, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Learning Political News From Social Media: Network Media Logic and Current Affairs News Learning in a High- Choice Media Environment
- 2021
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In: Communication Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 0093-6502 .- 1552-3810. ; 48:1, s. 125-147
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With the migration from traditional news media to social media, understanding how citizens learn about politics and current affairs from these sources has become increasingly important. Based on the concept of network media logic, distinct from traditional mass media logic, this study investigates whether using social media as a source of political news compensates for not using traditional news media in terms of political and current affairs learning. Using two panel studies conducted in two different political contexts—an election setting and a nonelection setting—the results show positive learning effects from using traditional news media and online news websites, but not from using social media. Taken together, the findings suggest that using social media to follow news about politics and current affairs does not compensate for not using traditional news media in terms of learning a diverse and broad set of general political news.
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| 6. |
- Shehata, Adam, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Same News Frames, Different Issues: Issue Familiarity and Dynamic Framing Effects
- 2024
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In: Communication Research. - : Sage Publications. - 0093-6502 .- 1552-3810.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study addresses how issue familiarity conditions longitudinal news framing effect dynamics. Comparing how the economic consequences frame impacts interpretation of two global problems—antimicrobial resistance and climate change—we study longitudinal effects across two similar issues varying significantly in salience and politicization, focusing on how various effect dynamics (single, repetitive, and counter-framing exposure) influence citizens’ beliefs over time. A longitudinal experiment conducted with a probability-recruited sample in Sweden (N = 1,956) reveals (1) clear framing effects for both issues, (2) dynamics driven primarily by recency mechanisms, and (3) that individual differences in baseline belief certainty condition news framing effects. In sum, while the same news frame can have very similar effects on different issues, the findings suggest a “dual role” of issue familiarity, potentially conditioning the specific longitudinal effect dynamics, on the one hand, and effect susceptibility, on the other hand.
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| 7. |
- Shehata, Adam, 1981, et al.
(author)
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The Development of Political Interest Among Adolescents : A Communication Mediation Approach Using Five Waves of Panel Data
- 2019
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In: Communication Research. - : Sage Publications. - 0093-6502 .- 1552-3810. ; 46:8, s. 1055-1077
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Political interest is one of the most important individual-level predictors of media use, public opinion formation and engagement. When, how and why some citizens develop a strong interest in politics is however less clear. This study analyzes the development of political interest during the formative years of adolescence, using a five-wave panel study among Swedish adolescents, covering a period of four years. Based on the citizen communication mediation model, we analyze how interest in political and current affairs news among family and friends influence adolescents’ political interest. Taken together, while the findings lend support for several of the hypotheses, mechanisms and processes derived from the communication mediation model – parents’ appear more important than peers when it comes to shaping adolescents’ political interest.
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