Format

Send to

Choose Destination
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014 May;17(5):271-5. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2013.0477. Epub 2014 Jan 30.

The more friends, the less political talk? Predictors of Facebook discussions among college students.

Author information

1
1 Department of Communication Studies, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Abstract

Although previous research has indicated that Facebook users, especially young adults, can cultivate their civic values by talking about public matters with their Facebook friends, little research has examined the predictors of political discussion on Facebook. Using survey data from 442 college students in the United States, this study finds that individual characteristics and network size influence college students' expressive behavior on Facebook related to two controversial topics: gay rights issues and politics. In line with previous studies about offline political discussion, the results show that conflict avoidance and ambivalence about target issues are negatively associated with Facebook discussions. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that users who have a large number of Facebook friends are less likely to talk about politics and gay rights issues on Facebook despite having access to increasing human and information resources. Theoretical implications of these findings and future directions are addressed.

PMID:
24479528
DOI:
10.1089/cyber.2013.0477
[Indexed for MEDLINE]
Free full text

Supplemental Content

Full text links

Icon for MLibrary (Deep Blue)
Loading ...
Support Center