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Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement?
Telematics and Informatics xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
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Telematics and Informatics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tele
Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Jinyun Chen School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, No. 601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 21 July 2016 Accepted 18 September 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: Online social networks Online civic engagement Offline civic engagement Information use Group incentives
a b s t r a c t The current study aims to determine whether Wechat can have positive effects on civic engagement and how young adults can be influenced. This study not only examines the direct associations between the Wechat social network and two types of civic engagement but also analyzes information use in Wechat and group incentives as mediators in the path model. A total of 297 young adults responded to an online survey questionnaire. The results showed that the size of online social networks was related to online civic publication, while interactions in networks exerted a positive influence on online and offline civic engagement via information use and group incentives. Furthermore, two types of civic engagement were found to be associated with each other. The possible reasons for these findings are also discussed. Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Social media are becoming increasingly popular around the world, especially among adolescents and young adults (Buffardi and Campbell, 2008; Pempek et al., 2009). In China, Wechat is the most popular social media platform, attracting 300 million users since its release fewer than two years ago. According to a report by Tencent, by the end of 2015 Wechat had 697 million monthly active users. Wechat has become an essential part of people’s lives – especially young people – in terms of education, work and entertainment. Although one popular social media platform in China, Sina Microblog, has been shown to have positive effects on online civic engagement (Guo, 2015), Wechat has not received similar attention. Compared to Sina Microblog, Wechat is driven by relationships (Chen and Liao, 2014). Wechat users have more acquaintances, with whom they have stronger relationships and more frequent interactions than through Sina Microblog. Furthermore, an increasing number of people are trying to become engaged in civic events through Wechat. Due to the characteristics of social media, which allow individuals to construct, share, co-create, discuss, and modify usergenerated content (Kietzmann et al., 2011), researchers have shown great interest in the relationships between participation in social media and civic engagement (see Greenhow and Li, 2013). This has created a heated debate: do social media have a positive relationship with civic engagement because they enable people to become better informed, find common causes and participate more often in public life? Or, on the contrary, do they have negative effects, causing people to become absorbed in interpersonal communication and distracted from civic disengagement, following the ‘‘time displacement hypothesis” proposed by Putnam (see Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012)?
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013 0736-5853/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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Gil de Zúñiga et al. (2012) tested whether desirable attitudes and behaviors could be promoted while keeping up with the news using SNS1 (Social Network Services). Warren et al. (2014) investigated how social media shaped the landscape of civic engagement and the building of trust. Lenzi et al. (2015) proposed a model that linked the informational use of social media with civic competencies and intentions of future civic engagement, treating civic discussions and online news-sharing as mediating factors. However, most of these studies have lacked theories to support their hypotheses and were seldom theory-driven. Future studies require more systematic and theory-based empirical research designs (Zhang and Leung, 2014). The present study adopts communication infrastructure theory (CIT), which claims that community resources are critical to fostering civic engagement (Gibbs et al., 2004). There are two major components of CIT2. One is the neighborhood storytelling network, in which community organizations, local media, and neighborhood residents have connections with each other and play significant roles. The other component is the communication action context, such as work conditions, schools, and other resources that can affect the strength of the neighborhood storytelling network (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006; Wilkin et al., 2010). CIT insists that the critical factor in civic engagement is accessing community storytelling resources, which can be any type of communicative action that addresses residents, whether oral or written, electronic or non-electronic (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). The theory provides a useful perspective from which to understand the relationship between the communication environment and communicative actions. Kim and Ball-Rokeach (2006) have also noted that new communication technologies can make a difference to civil society. Wechat is now ubiquitous in China. Not only do individuals use it for many purposes but also media and organizations, both large and small, take advantage of Wechat to exchange information with others. Wechat thus provides a better communication environment for neighborhood storytelling networks. The key to this study lies in the online social network, a storytelling community encompassing friends and the many types of information they exchange. This paper explores whether such a network can foster civic engagement. If individuals can be influenced by their social networks in Wechat, how, exactly, are they influenced? In trying to answer these questions, this paper adds to the path model two mediators, information use and group incentives. Young adults’ civic engagement tends to be undermined by the large amounts of time they spend on education, work, and/or commuting (see Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). Given these challenges, does Wechat have the power to convince young adults to participate in civic events?
2. Literature review 2.1. Civic engagement Civic engagement refers to the participation of individuals in the public sphere, such as in civic, electoral, or political activities. It is typically driven by a sense of duty and respect for authority and aims to bring about changes or improvements to society (Reuben, 2004; Greenhow and Li, 2013; Lenzi et al., 2015). Participation occurs through both direct and indirect interactions (Reuben, 2004); it may range from political to civic acts (Jugert et al., 2013). As the internet has become increasingly popular, online (internet-based) civic engagement has developed as well (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012). This includes online actions such as posting, commenting, discussing, voting, or even clicking to demonstrate one’s attention to societal issues (Greenhow and Li, 2013; Liu, 2013; Warren et al., 2014; Guo, 2015). Such actions are costless and simple, helping them to fit into the lifestyles of younger generations. With their passion for and comfort with communicating and sharing online, these young people are more apt than older generations to be e-citizens (Jensen et al., 2007). Offline civic engagement refers to actions taken in real life for civic purposes, such as volunteering for an environmental organization or communicating with the government (Greenhow and Li, 2013). Some researchers have found that the rate of offline civic participation among young adults is low (Grillo et al., 2009; Chan and Guo, 2013). Because they typically lack the motivation and perceived ability to engage in politics and public affairs in real life, they have few offline civic experiences (see Chan and Guo, 2013). Pattie et al. (2003) found that levels of potential engagement are much higher than those of actual activism. This may be due to the nature of ‘‘potential engagement”, which is a costless, rather hypothetical type of involvement. Under these circumstances, using actual activity to measure offline civic engagement is not appropriate because actual participation rates are expected to be low and therefore cannot reveal individuals’ true relationships with social media. Instead, intentions of offline civic engagement not only reveal young adults’ attitudes toward civic engagement but also strengthen the causal relationship between online and offline engagement, as civic engagement can be predicted by behavioral intentions (Ajzen, 1991). In other words, if we study ‘‘intentions” (will do) instead of ‘‘experience” (have done), we are more likely to determine how such intentions relate to social media, as people may have their ‘‘experiences” before using social media. This variable was also used in a study of Facebook and civic engagement (Lenzi et al., 2015). Behavioral intentions will become actual civic actions once opportunities become available. Online engagement can promote offline 1 2
SNS: Short for ‘‘Social Network Services”. CIT: Short for ‘‘Communication infrastructure theory”.
Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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engagement (see Jugert et al., 2013), as those who enjoy participating in civic activities on the Internet are also active in offline ones and vice versa (Livingstone et al., 2005). These two forms of civic engagement can be related to each other, as those who are engaged in online civic activities may have cultivated their intentions to take part in offline activities, while people with intentions of offline civic engagement may more actively participate in online civic activities, as these require less effort. H1. Online civic engagement is positively related to intentions of offline civic engagement.
2.2. Online social networks and civic engagement According to CIT, individuals embedded in a storytelling community are more likely to be encouraged to discuss their neighborhood, to solve problems for their neighborhood, and to participate in civic actions (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). Social networks, including friends, neighborhoods and so on, can positively affect young people’s civic knowledge and civic engagement (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). In this study, Wechat can be understood as an online community encompassing many members who can affect each other and in which users’ civic engagement can be encouraged. Chan and Guo (2013) found that Wechat makes it convenient for users to add individual friends and expand their social networks, which is helpful in fostering the potential for political and civic engagement. Civic participation will become undesirable and difficult if individuals lack social networks and ties (McLeod et al., 1999). According to Mcleod’s review, citizens who are more connected to their community or society tend to have higher levels of civic participation because they can be persuaded by these connections (Mcleod et al., 1996). With social media’s concentration on social connections, peer-to-peer and group communication, users can build relationships that can foster civic engagement over time (Greenhow and Li, 2013). Once engaged in social networks, members will have more interactions with online friends and will be more likely to express their interests in the public domain (Livingstone and Markham, 2008). To assess social networks, Tian (2013) took into account users’ numbers of online friends, which can reveal the size of their online social networks. However, it is possible that Wechat users seldom interact with their friends even if they have large social networks, and thus it is more appropriate to consider interactions in online social networks. H2. Online social networks are positively related to civic engagement.
2.3. Information use and civic engagement The effects of social media on civic engagement depend on how it is used. In the new media environment, the speed, efficiency, amount, variety, flexibility, and interactivity of information and sharing have increased dramatically (Carpini, 2000; Lenzi et al., 2015). Online interaction is varied. It is not only one-to-one but also one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many, and thus information can be easily exchanged (Carpini, 2000; Lenzi et al., 2015). Social media facilitate the rapid dissemination of information (Berthon et al., 2012), and one of the main reasons people use social media is to find information (see Kim et al., 2013). Wechat can satisfy users’ informational needs, which is the key to promoting collective action (see Lenzi et al., 2015). Information exchanged through SNS can nurture individuals’ motivation and ability as well as provide opportunities for civic engagement (Lenzi et al., 2015). The quality of civic engagement can be sustained, expanded and improved through social media (Carpini, 2000), as everyone is allowed to spread awareness of social causes and to participate in digital activism on various issues (Warren et al., 2014). As suggested by CIT, a storytelling network consists of three roles that communicate with each other, and the information exchanged in the process can have significant effects on civic engagement. The information exchanged in Wechat can not only help users gain more information concerning the civic sphere but also foster civic discussion because, in the process of exchanging information, individuals can develop better understandings of who is more active, more interested or more professional in the context of a particular topic; who is more qualified to share the main points of a particular topic; or who can be called upon to join a civic volunteer group (Lenzi et al., 2015). According to Lenzi et al. (2015), people can use social media to gain information that may not be accessible elsewhere, and thus opportunities may increase for more frequent engagement in civic conversations and activities. H3. Information use is positively related to civic engagement.
2.4. Group incentives and civic engagement CIT suggests that civic engagement is fostered by neighborhood belonging, which is a type of feeling one has toward a group. Olson (1965) noted that incentives would stimulate individuals to act in a group-oriented way. Pattie et al. (2003) noted that citizens could be encouraged to engage by their attachments, sense of duty, and the potential benefits of the Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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Fig. 1. Research framework. The size and interactions of online social networks are treated as independent variables; the two types of civic engagement are dependent variables, while information use and group incentives serve as mediators.
outcome. According to Warren et al. (2014), group incentives can predict civic engagement, and this is the most important factor in motivating online civic engagement. H4. Group incentives are positively related to civic engagement. Mustaffa et al. (2011) suggested that Facebook users created, shared, and exchanged information with their online friends, and also established networks. Information use is usually related to online social networks, which can serve as a source of information or motivator for using information. For example, Wechat has enabled every user to become a ‘‘medium” to convey information. RQ1: Are online social networks related to information use? Social media are beneficial for establishing and strengthening social ties, especially across large geographic areas (Smeltzer and Keddy, 2011). They can create imagined communities, in which citizens feel an affinity for each other and become part of a larger group (see Smeltzer and Keddy, 2011). RQ2: Are online social networks related to group incentives? Citizens tend to access information, share opinions, and deliberate over critical issues using social media, which have become the interactive regions of cyberspace (Mustaffa et al., 2011). Through their seeking out and use of information, citizens may encounter others who share similar political concerns and want to discuss certain issues (Smeltzer and Keddy, 2011); they may feel that they are part of a group, waiting to take action to benefit society. RQ3: Is information use related to group incentives? The research framework can be depicted as follows (Fig. 1).
3. Method 3.1. Data collection The present study employed a questionnaire (in the Chinese language) about online social networks, information use, group incentives, civic engagement (online and offline), and demographics. The questionnaire was distributed via sojump.com, the most popular questionnaire platform in China, through which a link can be shared on other social media such as Wechat, thus reaching audiences with as many different demographic backgrounds as possible. We received 308 responses. However, because ‘‘young adults” are defined as those between the ages of 18 and 29, 11 respondents were rejected because they exceeded this age limit. Ultimately, there were 297 valid responses. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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3.2. Respondents Young adults use Wechat much more frequently than do other age groups; they are also independently capable of taking part in civic events. The proportion of male respondents was 41.4%, while the female proportion was 58.6%. Most of the respondents were 21–23 years old (38.4%). The majority (79.5%) had completed college or higher education. Regarding location of residence, the percentages of respondents from cities, counties and the countryside were 72.1%, 20.2% and 7.7%, respectively. 3.3. Measurement 3.3.1. Online social networks Respondents were asked to report how many friends they had in Wechat to reveal the size of their online networks. As for their interactions with these networks, participants were asked to report their frequencies of communication during the past month using several modes: private chat, group chat, ‘‘moment” use (post, make comment and ‘‘like”). A 5-point Likert-type scale was used, from ‘‘1” (never) to ‘‘5” (always). 3.3.2. Information use Aspects of ‘‘quantity” and ‘‘quality” were taken into account to measure information use. 3.3.2.1. Quantity. Respondents were asked to report how often in the past month they had sought out various types of civic information, pertaining, for example, to livelihood issues, cultural issues, development issues, and safety issues. Examples were provided to make the types of issues clearer and easier to understand. A 5-point Likert-type scale was used, from ‘‘1” (never) to ‘‘5” (always). Options included the following: (a) Obtain information about livelihood issues (e.g., education, health, employment, charity, and the gap between rich and poor) through Wechat. (b) Obtain information about cultural issues (e.g., cultural protection, promotion of traditional culture, and morality) through Wechat. (c) Obtain information about development issues (e.g., environmental, energy, and high-tech issues) through Wechat. (d) Obtain information about safety issues (e.g., food safety, drug safety, emergencies, and other types of safety) through Wechat. 3.3.2.2. Quality. The survey also asked about users’ concentration on the above types of information. Respondents were asked to report how much attention they typically paid to different types of information using a 4-point Likert-type scale (‘‘very little”, ‘‘little”, ‘‘much”, ‘‘very much”). 3.3.3. Group incentives The variable ‘‘Group incentives” was measured by three items that were adapted from the study of Pattie et al. by Warren et al. (2014). These items reflect the collective benefits of civic engagement. The participants were asked to what extent they agreed with the following expressions. A 4-point Likert-type scale was used, from ‘‘completely disagree” to ‘‘completely agree”. (a) Engaging in social issues is a must for every citizen if we want to reduce social problems for the benefit of our nation. (b) Engaging in social issues helps bring the community together. (c) Engaging in social issues improves my relationship with the community. 3.3.4. Civic engagement 3.3.4.1. Intentions of offline civic engagement. Participants were asked to evaluate their likelihood of performing different actions during the following year and to respond on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from ‘‘not at all likely’’ to ‘‘extremely likely’’. After conducting a literature review on the measurement of civic engagement, as well as taking into account the performance of Chinese citizens in this area, the following ‘‘activities” were chosen for inclusion on the survey: (a) Discuss social issues with others in real life. (b) Do volunteer work to help the needy. (c) Participate in fundraising or donation activities. (d) Petition others on social issues. (e) Protest for social issues. (f) Participate in professional organizations or associations related to social issues. (g) Communicate with government officials about social issues (through meetings, writing letters, etc.). 3.3.4.2. Online civic engagement. Similar to the measurement of offline engagement, respondents were asked about the frequency with which they took part in the following activities during the last month. Post private opinions or comments on social issues via Wechat. (b) Repost something about social issues via Wechat. (c) Discuss social issues with others via Wechat. (d) Post or repost help-seeking information (e.g., missing-person information, crackdown information) via Wechat. (e) Participate in online donations/fundraisers via Wechat, (f) Petition via Wechat. (g) Protest via Wechat. (h) Communicate with government officials via Wechat. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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4. Results The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics19 for descriptives and correlations, while AMOS 22 was used for path analysis. 4.1. Reliability test and validity test Various tests were conducted to assess the construct validity and reliability of the instrument using three sequential methods: normality, reliability test and factor analysis. Item skewness and kurtosis were examined to assess normality. The skewness and kurtosis statistics of all observed measures were inspected to determine whether they were normally distributed. The majority of the variables’ absolute skewness and kurtosis values were below 2, except for the kurtosis of the quantity of information use, which was 4.080. No items were culled for this study as none of the items exceeds the standard acceptable skewness of 3 or kurtosis of 10 (Kline, 1998). As shown in Table 1, the Cronbach’s Alpha values of the variables were all above 0.8; high reliability indicated that the items could be adopted to measure the corresponding variables. In this study, factor analysis, which was performed using Varimax rotation and by examining eigenvalues and scree plots (retaining eigenvalues of 1.0 or greater), was adopted to test the validity of the scales. The results of Bartlett’s test of sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy are shown in Table 2, which shows that these variables are appropriate for factor analysis. The results of factor analysis indicate that most of the variables have only one factor, except for online civic engagement and offline civic engagement intentions. These two variables can be divided into two dimensions correspondingly. As seen in Table 3, there are two components of these items that aim to measure online civic engagement. The items loading on the first component are related to posting and sharing something online and can be called ‘‘online civic publication”. Through civic publication, users demonstrate their interest in civic issues, the first step of civic engagement. The second component can be called ‘‘online civic participation” because of its relationship to various activities. This is consistent with the study of Warren et al. (2014), which defined online civic publication and online coordination of civic activities (Table 4). Similarly, the category of offline civic intentions includes two factors; the first three items are more related to citizens’ daily lives, while the other items indicate citizens’ relationships with politics. Warren et al. (2014) noted that there are common forms of civic and political engagement. Thus, these two components can be named ‘‘nonpolitical civic intentions” and ‘‘political civic intentions”. The names of the different dimensions of the variables are listed below (Table 5). 4.2. Zero-order correlations See Table 6. 4.3. Path analysis results The first proposed model consisted of two exogenous variables (size of networks, interactions in networks) and four endogenous variables (online civic publication, online civic participation, nonpolitical civic intentions and political civic intentions), with information use and group incentives as mediating constructs. Based on the discussions of Hu and Bentler (1999) and Kline (2011) regarding model fit evaluation, the proposed model did not fit the data adequately, v2(1, N = 297) = 141.514, p = 0.000 < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.395 with a 90% confidence interval from 0.341 to 0.452, CFI = 0.671, SRMR = 0.0936. Based on the modification indices and the relationship among the variables, the error terms of quality of information use and quantity of information use were allowed to relate to each other; the variables size of networks and interactions in networks were also suggested to be related. After the modification, the model fit was much better, with v2(1, N = 297) = 4.515, p = 0.105, RMSEA = 0.065 with the 90% confidence interval from 0.000 to 0.147, CFI = 0.994, SRMR = 0.0160. According to Fig. 2, some hypotheses of this study are supported. H1 predicted a positive relationship between online civic engagement and offline civic intentions. As the path analysis results show, online civic publication (b = 0.170, p < 0.01) and online civic participation (b = 0.341, p < 0.001) are both positively related to offline political civic intentions, thus H1 is supported. H2, which predicted that online social networks are positively related to civic engagement, is partly supported. Only size of networks has a positive relationship with online civic publication, b = 0.144, p < 0.05, while other associations were not clear. H3 proposed that information use is positively related to online civic engagement and offline civic intentions, and the results support this hypothesis. Quantity of information use is positively associated with online civic publication (b = 0.419, p < 0.001), while quality of information use can positively influence online civic participation (b = 0.182, p < 0.05), nonpolitical (b = 0.170, p < 0.05) and political civic intentions (b = 0.119, p < 0.01). H4 is also partly supported because group incentives are only related to two types of offline civic intentions (b = 0.130, p < 0.05; b = 0.137, p < 0.01), but no relationship was found with online civic engagement. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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J. Chen / Telematics and Informatics xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Table 1 Results of reliability test for the variables.
Size of networks Interactions in networks Quantity of information use Quality of information use Group incentives Online civic engagement Offline civic intentions
Numbers of items
Cronbach’s Alpha
– 6 4 4 3 8 7
– 0.846 0.872 0.899 0.842 0.893 0.848
Table 2 Bartlett’s test and KMO of the variables.
Size of networks Interactions in networks Quantity of information use Quality of information use Group incentives Online civic engagement Offline civic intentions
Bartlett’s test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
– 0.827 0.802 0.831 0.703 0.858 0.827
– 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Table 3 Rotated component matrix of ‘‘Online civic engagement”. Items
Component 1
Component 2
Post private ideas/comments Repost civic issues Discuss civic issues online Post help-seeking messages Online Donation Online Petition Online Protest Contact with government via Wechat
0.716 0.889 0.809 0.635 0.505 0.258 0.300 0.288
0.345 0.139 0.276 0.347 0.447 0.895 0.869 0.834
The bold values illustrate that the items have closer relationship with the components.
Table 4 Rotated component matrix of ‘‘Offline civic intentions”. Items
Component 1
Component 2
Discuss Volunteer Donate Petition Protest Join association Contact government
0.206 0.175 0.173 0.818 0.873 0.797 0.831
0.688 0.883 0.846 0.271 0.169 0.337 0.077
The bold values illustrate that the items have closer relationship with the components.
Table 5 Names of the components.
Component 1 Component 2
Online civic engagement
Offline civic intentions
Online civic publication (items 1–5) Online civic participation (items 6–8)
Nonpolitical civic intentions (items 1–3) Political civic intentions (items 4–7)
RQ1 and RQ2 asked whether the online social network was related to information use and group incentives. As the results have shown, interactions in networks have a positive relationship with both quantity (b = 0.383, p < 0.001) and quality of information use (b = 0.268, p < 0.001). However, interactions in the networks are not related to group incentives.
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Table 6 Means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations among variables.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Size of networks Interactions in networks Quantity of information use Quality of information use Group incentives Online civic publication Online civic participation Nonpolitical civic intentions Political civic intentions
M
SD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2.69 3.53 2.57 2.04 3.02 2.12 1.54 2.82 2.06
1.40 0.88 1.02 1.17 0.57 0.86 0.82 0.67 0.68
0.263** 0.121* 0.089 -0.053 0.180** 0.029 0.080 0.005
0.388*** 0.272** 0.092 0.277** 0.158** 0.118** 0.123**
0.646** 0.188** 0.480** 0.151** 0.269** 0.172**
0.190** 0.322** -0.205** 0.273** 0.229**
0.162* 0.026 0.186** 0.188**
0.000 0.180** 0.198**
-0.019 0.361**
0.000
Note: The scores of the variables ranged from 1 to 5, except for size of networks, quantity of information use (1–4), quality of information use (1–4), group incentives (1–4) and offline civic intentions (1–4). The correlation reported here is Pearson Correlation. The Ns for the correlations is 297. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01. *** p < 0.001.
Fig. 2. Standardized path coefficients of the Model. These variables are observed to be related. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.005,
***
p < 0.001.
As for RQ3, which aims to figure out the relationship between information use and group incentives, we found that quality of information use can influence group incentives significantly (b = 0.118, p < 0.05). 5. Discussion This study examined, through path analysis, how individuals’ online social networks in Wechat influenced online and offline civic engagement. Overall, the findings extended our knowledge about the dynamics of Wechat and its social and informational uses. First, this study concentrated on the influences of social networks in Wechat, which have been overlooked by other researchers. Second, the present study examined not only the direct association between online social networks and civic engagement but also the indirect path, with information use and group incentives as mediators. Third, further insight concerning the time-displacement hypothesis was provided. This hypothesis is rejected for popular social media in China. Furthermore, different aspects of information use and different types of civic engagement have been taken into account, which provides us with a better understanding of the process. Interpretations of the specific findings are discussed in the following sections. 5.1. Online civic engagement and offline civic engagement intentions Wechat users active in online civic engagement tend to have stronger intentions to take part in offline political civic activities. McLeod et al. (1999) found that people who were active in standard civic affairs were willing to participate in civic forums. Two types of civic engagement are driven by a sense of responsibility for society. Because online civic engagement is more accessible, with lower costs of time and money, it allows young adults to cultivate their interests in civic issues as well Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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as to develop habits of focusing on these issues. As they gain deeper understandings of civic issues through online civic engagement, young adults may develop greater intentions to take part in offline civic activities; they may also turn their intentions into reality once they have the opportunity to do so. 5.2. Online social networks and civic engagement Individuals with larger online social networks tend to have more online publications about civic issues. This may be due to the personalities of the individuals; the size of an online network may reveal the personalities of its users, as those who have more online friends usually show a greater interest in online interactions, and thus they are more likely to post about civic issues than those who have limited online networks. Moreover, this type of online social network usually includes the user’s peers, the most important sources of normative influence (Jugert et al., 2013). The more online friends users have in Wechat, the more often they can read information posted by friends; they are also more likely to be encouraged by their friends to post online civic publications. 5.3. Online social networks, information use and civic engagement Online social networks can foster civic engagement through information use. The quantity of information that individuals use in Wechat can be increased when they interact with their online friends more frequently. With information being exchanged through the interaction process, users were more likely to have more online civic publications because they were also interested in spreading information to a wider network. Wechat users who have more interactions tend to concentrate much more on civic issues; therefore, they have a better understanding of these issues and may engage with them to a greater extent. Only by taking action, such as doing volunteer work and contacting the government, instead of merely posting online, can users’ desire to benefit society be effectively realized. This is consistent with the findings of Valenzuela et al. (2009), who found that the intensity of Facebook and group use are related to political participation. By interacting with others, people can feel connected to their communities, and these connections can persuade them to engage in civic activities (Mcleod et al., 1996). Having learned about civic issues on Wechat, users can improve their comprehension, as well as their negotiation and resolution skills in terms of civic engagement, thus becoming more qualified to take part in civic activities (Hart et al., 2014). Social networks allow users to exchange information, elaborate on problems occurring in the community and learn about opportunities to participate in civic activities (see Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012). 5.4. Online social networks, group incentives and civic engagement Interactions can also influence offline civic engagement intentions through the quality of information use and group incentives. Individuals who communicate with online friends more often tend to use civic information more carefully; they will attach greater importance to civic engagement, regarding it as a civic duty. By talking about issues and exchanging information, young people foster their attachment to their community (Kim et al., 2002; Ball-Rokeach et al., 2011; Lauglo, 2011). This is consistent with the finding of Kim and Ball-Rokeach (2006), who found that talking with others about their neighborhood can cultivate citizens’ sense of belonging and a stronger sense that they can solve problems; thus they may have more motivation to take part in civic actions. Once their civic engagement has begun, citizens are more likely to have stronger intentions of engaging in offline civic activities instead of online ones. This finding is consistent with the results of Warren et al. (2014), who also found that group incentives positively influence the use of social media for civic engagement behaviors. Other previous studies have also shown that offline civic engagement can be predicted by psychological factors, such as attitudes, subjective norms, and so on. Group incentives can be cultivated through information use during the interaction process, and it is easy to cultivate offline civic engagement intentions because individuals may believe that offline activity is a better and more useful way to solve problems related to civic issues. 6. Conclusions As a social media platform, Wechat can also serve as a social and informational platform. It can provide users with additional tools with which to learn about civic activities and develop the civic skills that are necessary for civic engagement. The ‘‘time displacement hypothesis,” referring to social media, can be abandoned according to the findings of this research. Wechat can be a solution to China’s low civic participation. Zhou (2011) suggested that the limited channels through which citizens can take part in civic activities and the lack of efficient responses from the government to citizens’ civic engagement have led to low levels of civic participation. Since social media have become prevalent, they have provided channels through which citizens can become civically engaged: people can express themselves in the public sphere and communicate with government officials. Thus, the interests and capacity of civic engagement can be fostered by social media. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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7. Limitations and suggestions for future research The limitations of this study should be noted. First, the measurement of some variables may not accurately assess the respondents’ real attitudes or behaviors. For example, although the scales used to measure online civic engagement and offline civic engagement intentions were adapted from relevant measurements in other studies to fit the Chinese situation, it is also possible that these variables have not been adequately explored and that new modes of civic engagement may not have been taken into account. As for information use, this has been measured in two ways: the quality and the quantity of information use. This is the first study to address information use in this way. Though the items on the scale have high reliability and validity, this area also requires more exploration in future research. Second, most of the respondents have higher levels of education and live in cities, and the proportion of low-SES individuals is quite low. Thus, it is not practical to draw conclusions for ‘‘young adults”, the audience we initially aimed to study. Additionally, it is difficult to make comparisons across different backgrounds due to the composition of the participants. It is suggested that in future studies, the proportion of respondents representing different demographics, such as education level and area of residence, should be better managed. Third, although this study is theory-driven, the relationships were proposed based on previous studies. However, the variables in the path model may also have other relationships. For example, group incentives may occur before social media is used, and this may foster interactions with online friends, which may lead to civic engagement. 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Valenzuela, S.A., 2009. Is there social capital in a social network site?: facebook use and college students’life satisfaction, trust, and participation. J. Comput. Mediat. Commun. 14, 875–901. Warren, A.M. et al, 2014. Social media effects on fostering online civic engagement and building citizen trust and trust in institutions. Govern. Inf. Q. 31 (2), 291–301. Wilkin, H.A. et al, 2010. Applications of communication infrastructure theory. Health Commun. 25, 611–612. Zhang, Y., Leung, L., 2014. A review of social networking service (SNS) research in communication journals from 2006 to 2011. New Media Soc. 17 (7), 1007– 1024. Zhou, B., 2011. Media exposure, public participation and political efficacy in public emergencies: an empirical study on the case of ‘‘Xiamen PX event”. Open Times (5), 123–140. Jinyun Chen is a Master’s candidate at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. Her research focuses on the uses and effects of new media.
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Telematics and Informatics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tele
Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Jinyun Chen School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, No. 601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 21 July 2016 Accepted 18 September 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: Online social networks Online civic engagement Offline civic engagement Information use Group incentives
a b s t r a c t The current study aims to determine whether Wechat can have positive effects on civic engagement and how young adults can be influenced. This study not only examines the direct associations between the Wechat social network and two types of civic engagement but also analyzes information use in Wechat and group incentives as mediators in the path model. A total of 297 young adults responded to an online survey questionnaire. The results showed that the size of online social networks was related to online civic publication, while interactions in networks exerted a positive influence on online and offline civic engagement via information use and group incentives. Furthermore, two types of civic engagement were found to be associated with each other. The possible reasons for these findings are also discussed. Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Social media are becoming increasingly popular around the world, especially among adolescents and young adults (Buffardi and Campbell, 2008; Pempek et al., 2009). In China, Wechat is the most popular social media platform, attracting 300 million users since its release fewer than two years ago. According to a report by Tencent, by the end of 2015 Wechat had 697 million monthly active users. Wechat has become an essential part of people’s lives – especially young people – in terms of education, work and entertainment. Although one popular social media platform in China, Sina Microblog, has been shown to have positive effects on online civic engagement (Guo, 2015), Wechat has not received similar attention. Compared to Sina Microblog, Wechat is driven by relationships (Chen and Liao, 2014). Wechat users have more acquaintances, with whom they have stronger relationships and more frequent interactions than through Sina Microblog. Furthermore, an increasing number of people are trying to become engaged in civic events through Wechat. Due to the characteristics of social media, which allow individuals to construct, share, co-create, discuss, and modify usergenerated content (Kietzmann et al., 2011), researchers have shown great interest in the relationships between participation in social media and civic engagement (see Greenhow and Li, 2013). This has created a heated debate: do social media have a positive relationship with civic engagement because they enable people to become better informed, find common causes and participate more often in public life? Or, on the contrary, do they have negative effects, causing people to become absorbed in interpersonal communication and distracted from civic disengagement, following the ‘‘time displacement hypothesis” proposed by Putnam (see Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012)?
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013 0736-5853/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Gil de Zúñiga et al. (2012) tested whether desirable attitudes and behaviors could be promoted while keeping up with the news using SNS1 (Social Network Services). Warren et al. (2014) investigated how social media shaped the landscape of civic engagement and the building of trust. Lenzi et al. (2015) proposed a model that linked the informational use of social media with civic competencies and intentions of future civic engagement, treating civic discussions and online news-sharing as mediating factors. However, most of these studies have lacked theories to support their hypotheses and were seldom theory-driven. Future studies require more systematic and theory-based empirical research designs (Zhang and Leung, 2014). The present study adopts communication infrastructure theory (CIT), which claims that community resources are critical to fostering civic engagement (Gibbs et al., 2004). There are two major components of CIT2. One is the neighborhood storytelling network, in which community organizations, local media, and neighborhood residents have connections with each other and play significant roles. The other component is the communication action context, such as work conditions, schools, and other resources that can affect the strength of the neighborhood storytelling network (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006; Wilkin et al., 2010). CIT insists that the critical factor in civic engagement is accessing community storytelling resources, which can be any type of communicative action that addresses residents, whether oral or written, electronic or non-electronic (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). The theory provides a useful perspective from which to understand the relationship between the communication environment and communicative actions. Kim and Ball-Rokeach (2006) have also noted that new communication technologies can make a difference to civil society. Wechat is now ubiquitous in China. Not only do individuals use it for many purposes but also media and organizations, both large and small, take advantage of Wechat to exchange information with others. Wechat thus provides a better communication environment for neighborhood storytelling networks. The key to this study lies in the online social network, a storytelling community encompassing friends and the many types of information they exchange. This paper explores whether such a network can foster civic engagement. If individuals can be influenced by their social networks in Wechat, how, exactly, are they influenced? In trying to answer these questions, this paper adds to the path model two mediators, information use and group incentives. Young adults’ civic engagement tends to be undermined by the large amounts of time they spend on education, work, and/or commuting (see Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). Given these challenges, does Wechat have the power to convince young adults to participate in civic events?
2. Literature review 2.1. Civic engagement Civic engagement refers to the participation of individuals in the public sphere, such as in civic, electoral, or political activities. It is typically driven by a sense of duty and respect for authority and aims to bring about changes or improvements to society (Reuben, 2004; Greenhow and Li, 2013; Lenzi et al., 2015). Participation occurs through both direct and indirect interactions (Reuben, 2004); it may range from political to civic acts (Jugert et al., 2013). As the internet has become increasingly popular, online (internet-based) civic engagement has developed as well (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012). This includes online actions such as posting, commenting, discussing, voting, or even clicking to demonstrate one’s attention to societal issues (Greenhow and Li, 2013; Liu, 2013; Warren et al., 2014; Guo, 2015). Such actions are costless and simple, helping them to fit into the lifestyles of younger generations. With their passion for and comfort with communicating and sharing online, these young people are more apt than older generations to be e-citizens (Jensen et al., 2007). Offline civic engagement refers to actions taken in real life for civic purposes, such as volunteering for an environmental organization or communicating with the government (Greenhow and Li, 2013). Some researchers have found that the rate of offline civic participation among young adults is low (Grillo et al., 2009; Chan and Guo, 2013). Because they typically lack the motivation and perceived ability to engage in politics and public affairs in real life, they have few offline civic experiences (see Chan and Guo, 2013). Pattie et al. (2003) found that levels of potential engagement are much higher than those of actual activism. This may be due to the nature of ‘‘potential engagement”, which is a costless, rather hypothetical type of involvement. Under these circumstances, using actual activity to measure offline civic engagement is not appropriate because actual participation rates are expected to be low and therefore cannot reveal individuals’ true relationships with social media. Instead, intentions of offline civic engagement not only reveal young adults’ attitudes toward civic engagement but also strengthen the causal relationship between online and offline engagement, as civic engagement can be predicted by behavioral intentions (Ajzen, 1991). In other words, if we study ‘‘intentions” (will do) instead of ‘‘experience” (have done), we are more likely to determine how such intentions relate to social media, as people may have their ‘‘experiences” before using social media. This variable was also used in a study of Facebook and civic engagement (Lenzi et al., 2015). Behavioral intentions will become actual civic actions once opportunities become available. Online engagement can promote offline 1 2
SNS: Short for ‘‘Social Network Services”. CIT: Short for ‘‘Communication infrastructure theory”.
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engagement (see Jugert et al., 2013), as those who enjoy participating in civic activities on the Internet are also active in offline ones and vice versa (Livingstone et al., 2005). These two forms of civic engagement can be related to each other, as those who are engaged in online civic activities may have cultivated their intentions to take part in offline activities, while people with intentions of offline civic engagement may more actively participate in online civic activities, as these require less effort. H1. Online civic engagement is positively related to intentions of offline civic engagement.
2.2. Online social networks and civic engagement According to CIT, individuals embedded in a storytelling community are more likely to be encouraged to discuss their neighborhood, to solve problems for their neighborhood, and to participate in civic actions (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). Social networks, including friends, neighborhoods and so on, can positively affect young people’s civic knowledge and civic engagement (Kim and Ball-Rokeach, 2006). In this study, Wechat can be understood as an online community encompassing many members who can affect each other and in which users’ civic engagement can be encouraged. Chan and Guo (2013) found that Wechat makes it convenient for users to add individual friends and expand their social networks, which is helpful in fostering the potential for political and civic engagement. Civic participation will become undesirable and difficult if individuals lack social networks and ties (McLeod et al., 1999). According to Mcleod’s review, citizens who are more connected to their community or society tend to have higher levels of civic participation because they can be persuaded by these connections (Mcleod et al., 1996). With social media’s concentration on social connections, peer-to-peer and group communication, users can build relationships that can foster civic engagement over time (Greenhow and Li, 2013). Once engaged in social networks, members will have more interactions with online friends and will be more likely to express their interests in the public domain (Livingstone and Markham, 2008). To assess social networks, Tian (2013) took into account users’ numbers of online friends, which can reveal the size of their online social networks. However, it is possible that Wechat users seldom interact with their friends even if they have large social networks, and thus it is more appropriate to consider interactions in online social networks. H2. Online social networks are positively related to civic engagement.
2.3. Information use and civic engagement The effects of social media on civic engagement depend on how it is used. In the new media environment, the speed, efficiency, amount, variety, flexibility, and interactivity of information and sharing have increased dramatically (Carpini, 2000; Lenzi et al., 2015). Online interaction is varied. It is not only one-to-one but also one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many, and thus information can be easily exchanged (Carpini, 2000; Lenzi et al., 2015). Social media facilitate the rapid dissemination of information (Berthon et al., 2012), and one of the main reasons people use social media is to find information (see Kim et al., 2013). Wechat can satisfy users’ informational needs, which is the key to promoting collective action (see Lenzi et al., 2015). Information exchanged through SNS can nurture individuals’ motivation and ability as well as provide opportunities for civic engagement (Lenzi et al., 2015). The quality of civic engagement can be sustained, expanded and improved through social media (Carpini, 2000), as everyone is allowed to spread awareness of social causes and to participate in digital activism on various issues (Warren et al., 2014). As suggested by CIT, a storytelling network consists of three roles that communicate with each other, and the information exchanged in the process can have significant effects on civic engagement. The information exchanged in Wechat can not only help users gain more information concerning the civic sphere but also foster civic discussion because, in the process of exchanging information, individuals can develop better understandings of who is more active, more interested or more professional in the context of a particular topic; who is more qualified to share the main points of a particular topic; or who can be called upon to join a civic volunteer group (Lenzi et al., 2015). According to Lenzi et al. (2015), people can use social media to gain information that may not be accessible elsewhere, and thus opportunities may increase for more frequent engagement in civic conversations and activities. H3. Information use is positively related to civic engagement.
2.4. Group incentives and civic engagement CIT suggests that civic engagement is fostered by neighborhood belonging, which is a type of feeling one has toward a group. Olson (1965) noted that incentives would stimulate individuals to act in a group-oriented way. Pattie et al. (2003) noted that citizens could be encouraged to engage by their attachments, sense of duty, and the potential benefits of the Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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Fig. 1. Research framework. The size and interactions of online social networks are treated as independent variables; the two types of civic engagement are dependent variables, while information use and group incentives serve as mediators.
outcome. According to Warren et al. (2014), group incentives can predict civic engagement, and this is the most important factor in motivating online civic engagement. H4. Group incentives are positively related to civic engagement. Mustaffa et al. (2011) suggested that Facebook users created, shared, and exchanged information with their online friends, and also established networks. Information use is usually related to online social networks, which can serve as a source of information or motivator for using information. For example, Wechat has enabled every user to become a ‘‘medium” to convey information. RQ1: Are online social networks related to information use? Social media are beneficial for establishing and strengthening social ties, especially across large geographic areas (Smeltzer and Keddy, 2011). They can create imagined communities, in which citizens feel an affinity for each other and become part of a larger group (see Smeltzer and Keddy, 2011). RQ2: Are online social networks related to group incentives? Citizens tend to access information, share opinions, and deliberate over critical issues using social media, which have become the interactive regions of cyberspace (Mustaffa et al., 2011). Through their seeking out and use of information, citizens may encounter others who share similar political concerns and want to discuss certain issues (Smeltzer and Keddy, 2011); they may feel that they are part of a group, waiting to take action to benefit society. RQ3: Is information use related to group incentives? The research framework can be depicted as follows (Fig. 1).
3. Method 3.1. Data collection The present study employed a questionnaire (in the Chinese language) about online social networks, information use, group incentives, civic engagement (online and offline), and demographics. The questionnaire was distributed via sojump.com, the most popular questionnaire platform in China, through which a link can be shared on other social media such as Wechat, thus reaching audiences with as many different demographic backgrounds as possible. We received 308 responses. However, because ‘‘young adults” are defined as those between the ages of 18 and 29, 11 respondents were rejected because they exceeded this age limit. Ultimately, there were 297 valid responses. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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3.2. Respondents Young adults use Wechat much more frequently than do other age groups; they are also independently capable of taking part in civic events. The proportion of male respondents was 41.4%, while the female proportion was 58.6%. Most of the respondents were 21–23 years old (38.4%). The majority (79.5%) had completed college or higher education. Regarding location of residence, the percentages of respondents from cities, counties and the countryside were 72.1%, 20.2% and 7.7%, respectively. 3.3. Measurement 3.3.1. Online social networks Respondents were asked to report how many friends they had in Wechat to reveal the size of their online networks. As for their interactions with these networks, participants were asked to report their frequencies of communication during the past month using several modes: private chat, group chat, ‘‘moment” use (post, make comment and ‘‘like”). A 5-point Likert-type scale was used, from ‘‘1” (never) to ‘‘5” (always). 3.3.2. Information use Aspects of ‘‘quantity” and ‘‘quality” were taken into account to measure information use. 3.3.2.1. Quantity. Respondents were asked to report how often in the past month they had sought out various types of civic information, pertaining, for example, to livelihood issues, cultural issues, development issues, and safety issues. Examples were provided to make the types of issues clearer and easier to understand. A 5-point Likert-type scale was used, from ‘‘1” (never) to ‘‘5” (always). Options included the following: (a) Obtain information about livelihood issues (e.g., education, health, employment, charity, and the gap between rich and poor) through Wechat. (b) Obtain information about cultural issues (e.g., cultural protection, promotion of traditional culture, and morality) through Wechat. (c) Obtain information about development issues (e.g., environmental, energy, and high-tech issues) through Wechat. (d) Obtain information about safety issues (e.g., food safety, drug safety, emergencies, and other types of safety) through Wechat. 3.3.2.2. Quality. The survey also asked about users’ concentration on the above types of information. Respondents were asked to report how much attention they typically paid to different types of information using a 4-point Likert-type scale (‘‘very little”, ‘‘little”, ‘‘much”, ‘‘very much”). 3.3.3. Group incentives The variable ‘‘Group incentives” was measured by three items that were adapted from the study of Pattie et al. by Warren et al. (2014). These items reflect the collective benefits of civic engagement. The participants were asked to what extent they agreed with the following expressions. A 4-point Likert-type scale was used, from ‘‘completely disagree” to ‘‘completely agree”. (a) Engaging in social issues is a must for every citizen if we want to reduce social problems for the benefit of our nation. (b) Engaging in social issues helps bring the community together. (c) Engaging in social issues improves my relationship with the community. 3.3.4. Civic engagement 3.3.4.1. Intentions of offline civic engagement. Participants were asked to evaluate their likelihood of performing different actions during the following year and to respond on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from ‘‘not at all likely’’ to ‘‘extremely likely’’. After conducting a literature review on the measurement of civic engagement, as well as taking into account the performance of Chinese citizens in this area, the following ‘‘activities” were chosen for inclusion on the survey: (a) Discuss social issues with others in real life. (b) Do volunteer work to help the needy. (c) Participate in fundraising or donation activities. (d) Petition others on social issues. (e) Protest for social issues. (f) Participate in professional organizations or associations related to social issues. (g) Communicate with government officials about social issues (through meetings, writing letters, etc.). 3.3.4.2. Online civic engagement. Similar to the measurement of offline engagement, respondents were asked about the frequency with which they took part in the following activities during the last month. Post private opinions or comments on social issues via Wechat. (b) Repost something about social issues via Wechat. (c) Discuss social issues with others via Wechat. (d) Post or repost help-seeking information (e.g., missing-person information, crackdown information) via Wechat. (e) Participate in online donations/fundraisers via Wechat, (f) Petition via Wechat. (g) Protest via Wechat. (h) Communicate with government officials via Wechat. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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4. Results The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics19 for descriptives and correlations, while AMOS 22 was used for path analysis. 4.1. Reliability test and validity test Various tests were conducted to assess the construct validity and reliability of the instrument using three sequential methods: normality, reliability test and factor analysis. Item skewness and kurtosis were examined to assess normality. The skewness and kurtosis statistics of all observed measures were inspected to determine whether they were normally distributed. The majority of the variables’ absolute skewness and kurtosis values were below 2, except for the kurtosis of the quantity of information use, which was 4.080. No items were culled for this study as none of the items exceeds the standard acceptable skewness of 3 or kurtosis of 10 (Kline, 1998). As shown in Table 1, the Cronbach’s Alpha values of the variables were all above 0.8; high reliability indicated that the items could be adopted to measure the corresponding variables. In this study, factor analysis, which was performed using Varimax rotation and by examining eigenvalues and scree plots (retaining eigenvalues of 1.0 or greater), was adopted to test the validity of the scales. The results of Bartlett’s test of sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy are shown in Table 2, which shows that these variables are appropriate for factor analysis. The results of factor analysis indicate that most of the variables have only one factor, except for online civic engagement and offline civic engagement intentions. These two variables can be divided into two dimensions correspondingly. As seen in Table 3, there are two components of these items that aim to measure online civic engagement. The items loading on the first component are related to posting and sharing something online and can be called ‘‘online civic publication”. Through civic publication, users demonstrate their interest in civic issues, the first step of civic engagement. The second component can be called ‘‘online civic participation” because of its relationship to various activities. This is consistent with the study of Warren et al. (2014), which defined online civic publication and online coordination of civic activities (Table 4). Similarly, the category of offline civic intentions includes two factors; the first three items are more related to citizens’ daily lives, while the other items indicate citizens’ relationships with politics. Warren et al. (2014) noted that there are common forms of civic and political engagement. Thus, these two components can be named ‘‘nonpolitical civic intentions” and ‘‘political civic intentions”. The names of the different dimensions of the variables are listed below (Table 5). 4.2. Zero-order correlations See Table 6. 4.3. Path analysis results The first proposed model consisted of two exogenous variables (size of networks, interactions in networks) and four endogenous variables (online civic publication, online civic participation, nonpolitical civic intentions and political civic intentions), with information use and group incentives as mediating constructs. Based on the discussions of Hu and Bentler (1999) and Kline (2011) regarding model fit evaluation, the proposed model did not fit the data adequately, v2(1, N = 297) = 141.514, p = 0.000 < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.395 with a 90% confidence interval from 0.341 to 0.452, CFI = 0.671, SRMR = 0.0936. Based on the modification indices and the relationship among the variables, the error terms of quality of information use and quantity of information use were allowed to relate to each other; the variables size of networks and interactions in networks were also suggested to be related. After the modification, the model fit was much better, with v2(1, N = 297) = 4.515, p = 0.105, RMSEA = 0.065 with the 90% confidence interval from 0.000 to 0.147, CFI = 0.994, SRMR = 0.0160. According to Fig. 2, some hypotheses of this study are supported. H1 predicted a positive relationship between online civic engagement and offline civic intentions. As the path analysis results show, online civic publication (b = 0.170, p < 0.01) and online civic participation (b = 0.341, p < 0.001) are both positively related to offline political civic intentions, thus H1 is supported. H2, which predicted that online social networks are positively related to civic engagement, is partly supported. Only size of networks has a positive relationship with online civic publication, b = 0.144, p < 0.05, while other associations were not clear. H3 proposed that information use is positively related to online civic engagement and offline civic intentions, and the results support this hypothesis. Quantity of information use is positively associated with online civic publication (b = 0.419, p < 0.001), while quality of information use can positively influence online civic participation (b = 0.182, p < 0.05), nonpolitical (b = 0.170, p < 0.05) and political civic intentions (b = 0.119, p < 0.01). H4 is also partly supported because group incentives are only related to two types of offline civic intentions (b = 0.130, p < 0.05; b = 0.137, p < 0.01), but no relationship was found with online civic engagement. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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J. Chen / Telematics and Informatics xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Table 1 Results of reliability test for the variables.
Size of networks Interactions in networks Quantity of information use Quality of information use Group incentives Online civic engagement Offline civic intentions
Numbers of items
Cronbach’s Alpha
– 6 4 4 3 8 7
– 0.846 0.872 0.899 0.842 0.893 0.848
Table 2 Bartlett’s test and KMO of the variables.
Size of networks Interactions in networks Quantity of information use Quality of information use Group incentives Online civic engagement Offline civic intentions
Bartlett’s test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
– 0.827 0.802 0.831 0.703 0.858 0.827
– 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Table 3 Rotated component matrix of ‘‘Online civic engagement”. Items
Component 1
Component 2
Post private ideas/comments Repost civic issues Discuss civic issues online Post help-seeking messages Online Donation Online Petition Online Protest Contact with government via Wechat
0.716 0.889 0.809 0.635 0.505 0.258 0.300 0.288
0.345 0.139 0.276 0.347 0.447 0.895 0.869 0.834
The bold values illustrate that the items have closer relationship with the components.
Table 4 Rotated component matrix of ‘‘Offline civic intentions”. Items
Component 1
Component 2
Discuss Volunteer Donate Petition Protest Join association Contact government
0.206 0.175 0.173 0.818 0.873 0.797 0.831
0.688 0.883 0.846 0.271 0.169 0.337 0.077
The bold values illustrate that the items have closer relationship with the components.
Table 5 Names of the components.
Component 1 Component 2
Online civic engagement
Offline civic intentions
Online civic publication (items 1–5) Online civic participation (items 6–8)
Nonpolitical civic intentions (items 1–3) Political civic intentions (items 4–7)
RQ1 and RQ2 asked whether the online social network was related to information use and group incentives. As the results have shown, interactions in networks have a positive relationship with both quantity (b = 0.383, p < 0.001) and quality of information use (b = 0.268, p < 0.001). However, interactions in the networks are not related to group incentives.
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Table 6 Means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations among variables.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Size of networks Interactions in networks Quantity of information use Quality of information use Group incentives Online civic publication Online civic participation Nonpolitical civic intentions Political civic intentions
M
SD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2.69 3.53 2.57 2.04 3.02 2.12 1.54 2.82 2.06
1.40 0.88 1.02 1.17 0.57 0.86 0.82 0.67 0.68
0.263** 0.121* 0.089 -0.053 0.180** 0.029 0.080 0.005
0.388*** 0.272** 0.092 0.277** 0.158** 0.118** 0.123**
0.646** 0.188** 0.480** 0.151** 0.269** 0.172**
0.190** 0.322** -0.205** 0.273** 0.229**
0.162* 0.026 0.186** 0.188**
0.000 0.180** 0.198**
-0.019 0.361**
0.000
Note: The scores of the variables ranged from 1 to 5, except for size of networks, quantity of information use (1–4), quality of information use (1–4), group incentives (1–4) and offline civic intentions (1–4). The correlation reported here is Pearson Correlation. The Ns for the correlations is 297. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01. *** p < 0.001.
Fig. 2. Standardized path coefficients of the Model. These variables are observed to be related. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.005,
***
p < 0.001.
As for RQ3, which aims to figure out the relationship between information use and group incentives, we found that quality of information use can influence group incentives significantly (b = 0.118, p < 0.05). 5. Discussion This study examined, through path analysis, how individuals’ online social networks in Wechat influenced online and offline civic engagement. Overall, the findings extended our knowledge about the dynamics of Wechat and its social and informational uses. First, this study concentrated on the influences of social networks in Wechat, which have been overlooked by other researchers. Second, the present study examined not only the direct association between online social networks and civic engagement but also the indirect path, with information use and group incentives as mediators. Third, further insight concerning the time-displacement hypothesis was provided. This hypothesis is rejected for popular social media in China. Furthermore, different aspects of information use and different types of civic engagement have been taken into account, which provides us with a better understanding of the process. Interpretations of the specific findings are discussed in the following sections. 5.1. Online civic engagement and offline civic engagement intentions Wechat users active in online civic engagement tend to have stronger intentions to take part in offline political civic activities. McLeod et al. (1999) found that people who were active in standard civic affairs were willing to participate in civic forums. Two types of civic engagement are driven by a sense of responsibility for society. Because online civic engagement is more accessible, with lower costs of time and money, it allows young adults to cultivate their interests in civic issues as well Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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as to develop habits of focusing on these issues. As they gain deeper understandings of civic issues through online civic engagement, young adults may develop greater intentions to take part in offline civic activities; they may also turn their intentions into reality once they have the opportunity to do so. 5.2. Online social networks and civic engagement Individuals with larger online social networks tend to have more online publications about civic issues. This may be due to the personalities of the individuals; the size of an online network may reveal the personalities of its users, as those who have more online friends usually show a greater interest in online interactions, and thus they are more likely to post about civic issues than those who have limited online networks. Moreover, this type of online social network usually includes the user’s peers, the most important sources of normative influence (Jugert et al., 2013). The more online friends users have in Wechat, the more often they can read information posted by friends; they are also more likely to be encouraged by their friends to post online civic publications. 5.3. Online social networks, information use and civic engagement Online social networks can foster civic engagement through information use. The quantity of information that individuals use in Wechat can be increased when they interact with their online friends more frequently. With information being exchanged through the interaction process, users were more likely to have more online civic publications because they were also interested in spreading information to a wider network. Wechat users who have more interactions tend to concentrate much more on civic issues; therefore, they have a better understanding of these issues and may engage with them to a greater extent. Only by taking action, such as doing volunteer work and contacting the government, instead of merely posting online, can users’ desire to benefit society be effectively realized. This is consistent with the findings of Valenzuela et al. (2009), who found that the intensity of Facebook and group use are related to political participation. By interacting with others, people can feel connected to their communities, and these connections can persuade them to engage in civic activities (Mcleod et al., 1996). Having learned about civic issues on Wechat, users can improve their comprehension, as well as their negotiation and resolution skills in terms of civic engagement, thus becoming more qualified to take part in civic activities (Hart et al., 2014). Social networks allow users to exchange information, elaborate on problems occurring in the community and learn about opportunities to participate in civic activities (see Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2012). 5.4. Online social networks, group incentives and civic engagement Interactions can also influence offline civic engagement intentions through the quality of information use and group incentives. Individuals who communicate with online friends more often tend to use civic information more carefully; they will attach greater importance to civic engagement, regarding it as a civic duty. By talking about issues and exchanging information, young people foster their attachment to their community (Kim et al., 2002; Ball-Rokeach et al., 2011; Lauglo, 2011). This is consistent with the finding of Kim and Ball-Rokeach (2006), who found that talking with others about their neighborhood can cultivate citizens’ sense of belonging and a stronger sense that they can solve problems; thus they may have more motivation to take part in civic actions. Once their civic engagement has begun, citizens are more likely to have stronger intentions of engaging in offline civic activities instead of online ones. This finding is consistent with the results of Warren et al. (2014), who also found that group incentives positively influence the use of social media for civic engagement behaviors. Other previous studies have also shown that offline civic engagement can be predicted by psychological factors, such as attitudes, subjective norms, and so on. Group incentives can be cultivated through information use during the interaction process, and it is easy to cultivate offline civic engagement intentions because individuals may believe that offline activity is a better and more useful way to solve problems related to civic issues. 6. Conclusions As a social media platform, Wechat can also serve as a social and informational platform. It can provide users with additional tools with which to learn about civic activities and develop the civic skills that are necessary for civic engagement. The ‘‘time displacement hypothesis,” referring to social media, can be abandoned according to the findings of this research. Wechat can be a solution to China’s low civic participation. Zhou (2011) suggested that the limited channels through which citizens can take part in civic activities and the lack of efficient responses from the government to citizens’ civic engagement have led to low levels of civic participation. Since social media have become prevalent, they have provided channels through which citizens can become civically engaged: people can express themselves in the public sphere and communicate with government officials. Thus, the interests and capacity of civic engagement can be fostered by social media. Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013
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7. Limitations and suggestions for future research The limitations of this study should be noted. First, the measurement of some variables may not accurately assess the respondents’ real attitudes or behaviors. For example, although the scales used to measure online civic engagement and offline civic engagement intentions were adapted from relevant measurements in other studies to fit the Chinese situation, it is also possible that these variables have not been adequately explored and that new modes of civic engagement may not have been taken into account. As for information use, this has been measured in two ways: the quality and the quantity of information use. This is the first study to address information use in this way. Though the items on the scale have high reliability and validity, this area also requires more exploration in future research. Second, most of the respondents have higher levels of education and live in cities, and the proportion of low-SES individuals is quite low. Thus, it is not practical to draw conclusions for ‘‘young adults”, the audience we initially aimed to study. Additionally, it is difficult to make comparisons across different backgrounds due to the composition of the participants. It is suggested that in future studies, the proportion of respondents representing different demographics, such as education level and area of residence, should be better managed. Third, although this study is theory-driven, the relationships were proposed based on previous studies. However, the variables in the path model may also have other relationships. For example, group incentives may occur before social media is used, and this may foster interactions with online friends, which may lead to civic engagement. 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Please cite this article in press as: Chen, J. Can online social networks foster young adults’ civic engagement? Telemat. Informat. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.09.013