Do social media help individuals without organisational memberships to engage more in politics or do they only facilitate political participation for those already involved? We examine how social media use and organisational membership jointly affect participation. Comparative surveys in Hong Kong and Taipei reveal that information sharing and virtual political engagement on social media mobilised users to engage in collective political actions. The influence of social media on individual-based participation is conditional on organisational membership, as reflected by the number of organisations joined. Organisational membership moderates the relationship between social media use and political behaviours differently in Hong Kong and Taipei.
AarsJacobStrømsnesKristin (2007) Contacting as a Channel of Political Involvement: Collectively motivated, individually enacted. West European Politics30(1): 93–120.
2.
AcockAlan C (2008) A Gentle Introduction to Stata. College Station, Texas: A Stata Press Publication.
3.
AnduizaEvaCristanchoCamiloSabucedoJosé M (2013) Mobilization through Online Social Networks: The political protest of the indignados in Spain. Information, Communication & Society17(6): 1–15.
4.
BennettW LanceSegerbergAlexandra (2012) The Logic of Connective Action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. Information, Communication & Society15(5): 739–768.
5.
BennettW LanceBreunigChristianGivensTerri (2008) Communication and Political Mobilization: Digital media and the organization of anti-Iraq war demonstrations in the US. Political Communication25(3): 269–289.
6.
BimberBruce (1999) The Internet and Citizen Communication with Government: Does the medium matter?Political Communication16(4): 409–428.
7.
BodeLeticia (2012) Facebooking it to the Polls: A study in online social networking and political behavior. Journal of Information Technology & Politics9(4): 352–369.
8.
BoulianneShelley (2009) Does Internet use Affect Engagement? A meta-analysis of research. Political Communication26(2): 193–211.
9.
boyddanah mEllisonNicole B (2007) Social Network Sites: Definition, history and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1): 201–230.
10.
BrandtzægPetter Bae (2010) Towards a Unified Media-User Typology (MUT): A meta-analysis and review of the research literature on media-user typologies. Computers in Human Behavior26(5): 940–956.
11.
ChangChing ChingLoVen-Wei (2007) The Pursuit of Knowledge, Identification or Entertainment? An exploration of political call-in program content and audiences’ viewing motives. Mass Communication Research2007(10): 83–139.
12.
GervaisElizabeth Anne (2015) Social Network Websites as Information Channels for the US Social Forum. Media, Culture & Society37(4): 547–565.
13.
Gil de ZúñigaHomeroJungNakwonValenzuelaSebastián (2012) Social Media Use for News and Individuals’ Social Capital, Civic Engagement and Political Participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication17(3): 319–336.
14.
HaShang EKimSeokhoJoSe Hee (2013) Personality Traits and Political Participation: Evidence from South Korea. Political Psychology34(4): 511–532.
15.
HaoXiaomingWenNainanCherianGeorge (2014) News Consumption and Political and Civic Engagement among Young People. Journal of Youth Studies17(9): 1–18.
16.
HermannsHeike (2009) Political Parties in South Korea and Taiwan after Twenty Years of Democratization. Pacific Focus24(2): 205–224.
17.
KershawDavid Carl (2010) Mobilizing the Mobilized: The electoral recruitment paradox. American Politics Research38(3): 425–442.
18.
KimYong-ChanBall-RokeachSandra J (2006) Civic Engagement from a Communication Infrastructure Perspective. Communication Theory16(2): 173–197.
19.
KimYonghwanChenHsuan-TingZúñigaHomero Gil de (2013) Stumbling upon News on the Internet: Effects of incidental news exposure and relative entertainment use on political engagement. Computers in Human Behavior29(6): 2607–2614.
20.
KriesiHanspeter (2008) Political Mobilisation, Political Participation and the Power of the Vote. West European Politics31(1–2): 147–168.
21.
KuanHsin-ChiLauSiu-Kai (2002) Traditional orientations and political participation in three Chinese societies. Journal of Contemporary China11(31): 297–318.
22.
LeeFrancis (2009) The impact of political discussion in a democratizing society: The moderating role of disagreement and support for democracy. Communication Research36(3): 379–399.
23.
LeeFrancis (2012) Does discussion with disagreement discourage all types of political participation? Survey evidence from Hong Kong. Communication Research39(4): 543–562.
24.
LupiaArthurSinGisela (2003) Which Public Goods are Endangered? How evolving communication technologies affect the logic of collective action. Public Choice117(3–4): 315–331.
25.
McLeodJack MScheufeleDietram AMoyPatricia (1999) Community, Communication and Participation: The role of mass media and interpersonal discussion in local political participation. Political Communication16(3): 315–336.
26.
MoyPatriciaManosevitchEdithStammKeithDunsmoreKate (2005) Linking Dimensions of Internet Use and Civic Engagement. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly82(3): 571–586.
27.
NeumanW Russell (2001) The Impact of the New Media. Mediated Politics: Communication in the Future of Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
28.
PattieCharles JJohnstonRonald J (2009) Conversation, Disagreement and Political Participation. Political Behavior31(2): 261–285.
29.
RojasHernandoShahDhavan VFriedlandLewis A (2011) A Communicative Approach to Social Capital. Journal of Communication61(4): 689–712.
30.
ScheufeleDietram AEvelandWilliam P (2001) Perceptions of ‘Public Opinion’ and ‘Public’ Opinion Expression. International Journal of Public Opinion Research13(1): 25–44.
31.
ScheufeleDietram ANisbetMatthew CBrossardDominiqueNisbetErik C (2004) Social Structure and Citizenship: Examining the impacts of social setting, network heterogeneity and informational variables on political participation. Political Communication21(3): 315–338.
32.
ShahDhavan VMcLeodDouglas MFriedlandLewisNelsonMichelle R (2007) The Politics of Consumption/the Consumption of Politics. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science611: 6–15.
33.
ShiT (1997) Political Participation in Beijing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
34.
SwansonDavid L (2000) The Homologous Evolution of Political Communication and Civic Engagement: Good news, bad news and no news. Political Communication17(4): 409–414.
35.
TownerTerri L (2013) All Political Participation is Socially Networked? New media and the 2012 election. Social Science Computer Review31(5): 527–541.
36.
VerbaSidneyNieNorman HKimJae-on (1971) The Modes of Democratic Participation: A Cross-National Comparison. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications.
37.
VerbaSidneySchlozmanKay LehmanBradyHenry E (1995) Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
38.
VitakJessicaZubePaulSmockAndrewCarrCaleb TEllisonNicoleLampeCliff (2011) It’s Complicated: Facebook users’ political participation in the 2008 election. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking14(3): 107–114.
39.
WangTai-Li (2010) A Comparative Study of Campaign Blogs and Websites: The case of Taiwan’s 2008 general election. Online Information Review34(2): 229–249.
40.
WeberLori (2003) Rugged Individuals and Social Butterflies: The consequences of social and individual political participation for political tolerance. The Social Science Journal40(2): 335–342.
41.
ZhangWeiwuJohnsonThomas JSeltzerTrentBichardShannon L (2010) The Revolution will be Networked: The influence of social networking sites on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review28(1): 75–92.
42.
ZhangXinzhiLinWan-Ying (2014) Political Participation in an Unlikely Place: How individuals engage in politics through social networking sites in China. International Journal of Communication8: 21–42.
43.
ZukinCliffKeeterScottAndolinaMollyJenkinsKristaCarpiniMichael X Delli (2006) A New Engagement? Political Participation, Civic Life and the Changing American Citizen. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
