Social Media Expression and User Predispositions: Applying the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model to the Study of Issue Polarization

Abstract

The ability of social media users to express themselves online should be influential for opinion formation, including potential polarization. Still, little is known about how expression interacts with users’ psychological predispositions, especially for controversial topics. The potential for expression to relate to support for social media-based racial justice movements, which could also be affected by underlying feelings of racial resentment, is particularly interesting. We apply the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) to the study of the relationship between social media expression and issue polarization regarding Black Lives Matter. In a survey of social media users conducted during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we find that racial resentment moderates the relationship between social media expression and support for racial justice movements. Among low-resentment social media users, more frequent expression was associated with less support for Black Lives Matter. In addition, low- versus high-resentment users who expressed themselves on social media more frequently were more polarized in their support for All Lives Matter but less polarized in their support for Black Lives Matter. In line with the DSMM, our findings highlight that users’ psychological predispositions must be taken into account when determining how social media expression relates to issue polarization.

Black college students navigating digital environments: A qualitative analysis of peer racial socialization.

“…The Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (Valkenburg & Peter, 2013) posits that potential impact of and responses to media are contingent on individual differences. The themes of cultural socialization and processing discrimination may dovetail with other recent work in providing insight into the potential mechanisms relating digital media to individual differences (i.e., racial identity) in media impacts and responses (e.g., Coles & Saleem, 2021). Finally, these findings also contribute to literature exploring the potential affordances offered by digital media.…”

Social Media Natives’ Invisible Online Spaces: Proposing the Concept of Digital Gemeinschaft 2.0

“…Why it is so important for the social media natives of this study to not leave traces in “open” spaces online may be manifold, however (see, for example, Coles & Saleem, 2021; Laurison, 2015). One may start out by seeing their responses through the lens of their “distinct positionalities of privilege” (Fang et al, 2019, p. e11).…”

Online Fake News Opinion Spread and Belief Change: A Systematic Review

“…It was shown that people became further entrenched in their preconceived beliefs in the case of a contradicting opinion from a subject matter expert celebrity. In [131], the authors showed that feelings of resentment were the most significant predictor of the Black Lives Matter movement's support. Low-resentment individuals who expressed themselves on social media more frequently were less supportive.…”