Partisan Strength and Social Media Use Among Voters During the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council Election: Examining the Roles of Ambivalence and Disagreement

Abstract

High identifiers to political parties are typically the most cognitively and behaviorally engaged during elections. Using a national postelection survey of voters (N = 924) in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council Election, the present study examined the relationship between partisan strength and a variety of social media behaviors. Findings showed that partisan strength was positively associated with social media use during the campaign. However, the relationships were generally only significant under conditions of lower ambivalence toward political parties and less disagreement among one’s friendship networks. Implications for the findings are discussed.