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01.07.2015

Unspeaking on Facebook? Testing network effects on self-censorship of political expressions in social network sites

verfasst von: K. Hazel Kwon, Shin-Il Moon, Michael A. Stefanone

Erschienen in: Quality & Quantity | Ausgabe 4/2015

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore online social network exposure effects on predicting individual’s willingness to self-censor political expression (WTSC) and political posting behaviors. The spiral of silence (SOS) theory is applied to the context of online social networks wherein three major network characteristics are highlighted: reduced privacy, integration of multiple social context/relationships, and increase in unanticipated exposure to different opinions. The discussion leads us to propose three possible network effects in terms of WTSC and posting behavior including ‘relationship-specific fear of isolation’, ‘incongruence with dominant political orientation’, and ‘exposure to diverse opinions’. Results show that the exposure to diverse opinions is positively associated with WTSC, which in turn is associated with political posting behavior online. Interestingly, while fear of isolation from offline contacts increases WTSC, it has a positive association with actual posting behavior. We speculate to what extent the social conformity proposition of the SOS theory should persist online and call for further exploration of informational nfluence as conceptually distinct from normative influence.

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The connotation of “anonymity” in this paper needs to be subtly differentiated from what Noelle-Neumann (1993) intends to mean when she used the terminology in her SOS theory. While we suggest that anonymity increases a sense of privacy by less exposing the individual’s identity to the public, Noelle-Neumann (1993) discusses that anonymity in public arena encourages to participants to overlook their individuality and is more likely to result in greater conformity with crowds. Her discussion seems to be in line with many early computer-mediated communication scholars’ discussion on online disinhibition effects, which takes a different view from more recent discussions on anonymity as a protector of privacy rights.

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Titel: Unspeaking on Facebook? Testing network effects on self-censorship of political expressions in social network sites
verfasst von: K. Hazel Kwon
Shin-Il Moon
Michael A. Stefanone
Publikationsdatum: 01.07.2015
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Erschienen in: Quality & Quantity / Ausgabe 4/2015
Print ISSN: 0033-5177
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-7845
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-014-0078-8

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