Cross-cutting exposure on social networking sites: The effects of SNS discussion disagreement on political participation

Drawing on a national probability survey, this study explores the relationship between discussion disagreement on social networking sites and political participation by focusing on the intervening effects of political discussion and news use. The results revealed that discussion disagreement on SNSs inhibits off- and online political participation, and this relationship is partially mediated by the frequency of SNS political discussion. Furthermore, the frequency of news-related activities on SNSs is found to moderate the mediating effect of political discussion. The implications are discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.