How Digital Skills Influence on Digital Participation in China? The Mediating Roles of Online Interpersonal Communication and Online Immersion

Abstract

This study examined the influencing factors of digital participation, including digital skills, interpersonal communication, online immersion and mediating roles of online interpersonal communication and online immersion. This study selected 1,204 samples from the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey. Amos 26.0 was used to test the theoretical model using the structural equation model (SEM). The study found that digital skills positively affect digital participation, digital skills positively affect online interpersonal communication and online immersion, and online interpersonal communication and online immersion positively affect digital participation. Online interpersonal communication and online immersion were found to significantly mediate the nexus between digital skills and digital participation. Moreover, income was found to be no longer a significant factor in the relationship of digital skills on digital participation. This study found the mediating roles of online interpersonal communication and online immersion between digital skills and digital participation, which was not available in previous studies. This result proved that the interaction between participants and the subjective immersive experience via the network are crucial for digital participation, and that the close information communication with different populations and an immersive network environment can facilitate the interactive expression of participants in cyberspace. The study also found that at least in China, the income gap is no longer a major factor affecting the relationship between digital skills and digital participation.