The Effects of Social Media and Mobile Apps Use on Political Participation in Taiwan

Abstract

The main goal of this study is to examine the relationship among attention to news, mobile social media use, mobile apps use, and political participation. The study also examines the role of online political expression in moderating the relationship among attention to news, social media use on mobile devices, mobile apps use, and political participation for younger people after the 2014 Sunflower Movement in Taiwan. We analyze data from a web survey (n = 304) conducted shortly after the Sunflower Movement, which was Taiwanese college students’ occupation of the country’s parliament in an effort to prevent the passage of an agreement allowing for freer trade in services with China. Results show that mobile social media use and online expression are positively related to political participation, however, online expression does not have any moderating effect on the relationship among social media use, mobile apps use, attention to news, and political participation. Implications of the findings are discussed.