TY - CONF
T1 - A Social Safety Net? Incentives for sharing political information online
AU - Fredén, Annika
AU - Gustafsson, Nils
AU - Bäck, Emma
AU - Bäck, Hanna
PY - 2017/10/5
Y1 - 2017/10/5
N2 - This paper explores the relationship between sensitivity to rejection and using social media for political activity. We hypothesize that individuals who are afraid of being rejected behave differently when using social media than the ones who are less sensitive to rejection. We argue that “rejection sensitive” individuals are less likely to share political information in social media, since the recipient is more anonymous than in real-life communication. Starting from theories on social influence on political participation, we elaborate the relationship between age, rejection sensitivity, and political opinion-making. Combining a unique survey on psychological characteristics and political activities with focus groups interviews with Swedish youth lends credence to the central idea. Younger citizens are in general more sensitive to social rejection, and less inclined to influence others politically in social media. On the other hand, younger citizens are more politically active in social media.This research was financially supported by the Marianne och Marcus Wallenberg Foundation
AB - This paper explores the relationship between sensitivity to rejection and using social media for political activity. We hypothesize that individuals who are afraid of being rejected behave differently when using social media than the ones who are less sensitive to rejection. We argue that “rejection sensitive” individuals are less likely to share political information in social media, since the recipient is more anonymous than in real-life communication. Starting from theories on social influence on political participation, we elaborate the relationship between age, rejection sensitivity, and political opinion-making. Combining a unique survey on psychological characteristics and political activities with focus groups interviews with Swedish youth lends credence to the central idea. Younger citizens are in general more sensitive to social rejection, and less inclined to influence others politically in social media. On the other hand, younger citizens are more politically active in social media.This research was financially supported by the Marianne och Marcus Wallenberg Foundation
KW - social media
KW - social network sites
KW - political participation
KW - political psychology
KW - Personality traits
M3 - Paper, not in proceeding
T2 - SWEPSA Swedish Political Science Association Annual Conference
Y2 - 4 October 2017 through 6 October 2017
ER -