The Differential Influence Of Social Dependence And Platform Dependence Of News-finds-Me Perception On Young Netizens' Political Participation And System Support

Citizens are increasingly exposed to news through social media,and the omnipresent nature of news in social media has led some to believe that they no longer need to actively seek the news to be well informed about public affairs and that important news will find them through social media.In response,scholars have offered a theoretical account called "news-finds-me" perception(NFM)and focused on its impact on news consumption and political behavior.The initial studies were conducted in countries such as the United States and Austria and indicated deleterious effects of NFM.This study attempts to expand the research on this concept in the Chinese social media environment by proposing a distinction between social dependence and platform dependence of NFM to improve the current theoretical construct and to explore its impact on online political participation and system support,respectively.The results found that the stronger the social dependence,the more frequent the online political participation,and the mediating effect of political efficacy strengthened this effect,but social dependence was negatively related to system support.The direct effect of platform dependence of NFM and online political participation is significantly negatively related,but the chain mediation of political knowledge and political efficacy makes the total effect on online political participation positive and significant.And the stronger the platform dependence of NFM,the stronger the individual's system support.The empirical analysis shows that the social dependence and platform dependence of NFM do have differential influence mechanisms on online political participation and system support,revealing the correlation patterns between the sub-dimensions of NFM and their consequences,and expanding the explanation of the influence paths of online political participation and system support.It provides a new theoretical framework for further understanding news exposure and its effects on social media in the local context.