Developing Political Associational Ties on Mobile Social Media: A Cross-National Study of the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

This study examined 30 Asia-Pacific countries to identify national-level factors that influence the penetration of mobile technology and mobile social media, and development of associational ties with political organizations on the mobile media sites, Facebook and Twitter. Findings showed that Asia-Pacific countries had caught up with the Global North in mobile phone adoption and social media use. Indulgence as a national culture attribute was found to predict mobile social media use, which was associated with becoming a fan of Facebook pages of the government, news, political communities, and NGOs. Implications on political use of mobile social media in the Asia-Pacific region are discussed.