Rumor Has It: Examining the Effects of Facebook Addiction on Political Knowledge Gullibility
Keywords:
social media, facebook, politics, gullabuility, facebook addiction scaleAbstract
Political rumors, half-truths and unfortunate candid comments from candidates spread like wildfire across the social media spectrum, meaning social channels require constant care and maintenance. The purpose of this study is to examine how Facebook addiction can affect levels of gullibility to online political rumors. Prior to the 2012 elections, more than 500 respondents participated in a survey designed to measure gullibility to online political rumors. Respondents reported levels of addiction to Facebook and were asked to determine the validity of 20 statements regarding President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney. The statements varied in their level of accuracy, some obviously rumor, others seemingly true, but all originated from Internet sources and were disseminated by various Facebook users. In separate survey sections, political knowledge and the political activity of the users Facebook “friends” were measured. Results indicated that both Facebook addiction and gullibility decreased with age and the two variables have a strong correlation between them.
References
Andreassen, C. S., Torshiem, T., Brunborg, G. S., & Pallesen, S. (2012). Development of a Facebook addiction scale, Psychological Reports 11(2), 501-17.
Bandura, A. (2002). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. In J. Bryant and D. Zillmann, Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ, 121-154.
Bennett, W. L. (2012). The personalization of politics: Political identity, social media, and changing patterns of participation." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 644, 20-39.
Bolt, A. (2010). Story shame for The Age. Herald Sun. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/story-shame-for-the-age/story-e6frfhqf-1225898683702
Bond, R. M., Fariss, C. J., Jones, J. J., Kramer, A., Marlow, C., Settle, J., & Fowler. J. (2012). A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization. Nature, 489, 295-98.
Brandtzaeg, P. B., Luders, M., & Skjetne, J. H. (2010). Too many Facebook "friends"? Content sharing and sociability versus the need for privacy in social network sites. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 26(11-12), 1006-030.
Buxmann, P., & Krasnova, H. (2013, January 21).Facebook makes users envious and dissatisfied. Retrieved from http://www.tu-darmstadt.de/vorbeischauen/aktuell/ni_63808.en.jsp
Carpenter, J., Green, M., & LaFlam, J. (2011). People or profiles: individual differences in online social networking use. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 538-541.
DiGrazia, J., McKelvey, K., Bollen, J., & Rojas, F. (2013). More tweets, more votes: Social media as a quantitative indicator of political behavior. PLoS ONE, 8(11): e79449. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.00794499
Debatin, B., Lovejoy, J., Horn, A., & Hughes, B. (2009). Facebook and online privacy: Attitudes, behaviors, and unintended consequences. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15, 83-108.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-168.
Fitzgerald, B. (2012). Most popular sites 2012: Alexa ranks the 500 most-visited websites. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/most-popular-sites-2012-alexa_n_1761365.html
Franceschi-Bicchierai, L. (2012, November 03). How is facebook addiction affecting our minds?. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/11/03/facebook-addiction/
Garrett, R. K. (2011). Troubling consequences of online political rumoring. Human Communication Research, 37(2), 255-274.
Herther, N. K. (2011). All the news that's fit to post. Or is it? Searcher ,19(5), 20-28.
Holmes, J. (2010). Media watch: Accusations and reputations (02/08/2010). ABC Media Watch. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s2971299.htm
Jackson, B., Kiely, E., & Gore, D. (2012). Fact Check. FactCheck.org . Retrieved from http://factcheck.org/ask-factcheck/
Kerbel, M. R., & Bloom, J. D. (2005). Blog for America and civic involvement, The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 10(4), 3-27.
Loader, B., & Mercea, D. (2011). Networking democracy?. Information, Communication & Society, 14(6), 757-769.
McClurg, S. D. (2006). The electoral relevance of political talk: Examining disagreement and expertise effects in social networks on political participation. American Journal of Political Science, 50(3), 737-754.
Mikkleson, B., & Mikkleson, D. (2012). Mitt Romney: I can relate to black people. Snopes. Retrieved from http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/blackcommunity.asp
Morgan, M., Shanahan, J., & Signorielli, N. (2009). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & M.B. Oliver (Eds.) Media effects: Advances in theory and research, 3rd ed. (pp. 34-49). New York: Routledge.
North, N. S. (2011). Social media’s role in branding: A study of social media use and the cultivation of brand affect, trust, and loyalty. Master’s Thesis: University of Texas, Austin, TX.
Ortutay, B. (2012). Facebook tops 1 billion users. Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/10/04/facebook-tops-1-billion-users/1612613/
Price, T. (2012). Social media and politics. CQ Researcher, 22(36), 865-888.
Rainie, L., & Smith, A. (2012). Politics on social networking sites. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Politics-on-SNS.aspx
Rainie, L., Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., Brady, H., & Verba, S. (2012). Social media and political engagement. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2012/PIP_SocialMediaAndPoliticalEngagement_PDF.pdf
Roskos-Ewoldsen, B., Davies, J., & Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R. (2004). Implications of the mental models approach for cultivation theory. Communications, 29, 345-363.
Ross, C., Orr, E. S., Sisic, M., Arseneault, J. M., Simmering, M. & Orr, R. (2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 578-86.
Semiatin, R. (2012). Campaigns on the cutting edge. (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Sage.
Shirky, C. (2011). The political power of social media. Foreign Affairs, 90(1), 28-41.
Shrum, L. (1997). The role of source confusion in cultivation effects may depend on procession strategy: A comment on Mares (1996). Human Communication Research, 24, 349-358.
Slater, M. D. (2007). Reinforcing spirals: The mutual influence of media selectivity and media effects and their impact on individual and social identity. Communication Theory, 17(3), 281-303.
Smith, A. & Rainie, L. (2008). The Internet and the 2008 election. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/The-Internet-and-the-2008-Election/01-Summary-of-Findings.aspx
Walton, A. G. (2012). Internet addiction shows up in the brain. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/01/17/internet-addiction-shows-up-in-the-brain/
Walton, A. G. (2012). Internet addiction is the new mental disorder. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/10/02/the-new-mental-health-disorder-internet-addiction/
Williams, C. B. & Gulati, G.J. (2007). Social networks in political campaigns: Facebook and the 2006 midterm elections. American Political Science Association, 1-24.
Wood, S. (1990). Television's first political spot ad campaign: Eisenhower answers America. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 20(2), 265-283.
Woodard, E. H., & Gridina, N. (2000). Media in the home. Retrieved from http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Media_and_Developing_Child/mediasurvey/survey7.pdf
Xenos, M., & Moy, P. (2007). Direct and differential effects of the internet on political and civic engagement. Journal of communication, 57(4), 704-718.
Yuan, K., Qin, W., Wang, G., Zeng, F., Zhao, L., Yang, X., … Tian , J. (2011) Microstructure abnormalities in adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder. PLoS ONE 6(6): e20708.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020708
Zhang, W., Johnson, T. J., Seltzer, T. & Bichard, S.L. (2010). The revolution will be networked: The influence of social networking sites on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review, 28(1), 75-92.
Zhou, Y., Lin, F., Du, Y. S., Qin, L. D., Zhao, Z. M., Xu, J. R., & Lei, H. (2011). Gray matter abnormalities in Internet addiction: A voxel-based morphometry study. European Journal of Radiology,79(1), 92-95.
Bandura, A. (2002). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. In J. Bryant and D. Zillmann, Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ, 121-154.
Bennett, W. L. (2012). The personalization of politics: Political identity, social media, and changing patterns of participation." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 644, 20-39.
Bolt, A. (2010). Story shame for The Age. Herald Sun. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/story-shame-for-the-age/story-e6frfhqf-1225898683702
Bond, R. M., Fariss, C. J., Jones, J. J., Kramer, A., Marlow, C., Settle, J., & Fowler. J. (2012). A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization. Nature, 489, 295-98.
Brandtzaeg, P. B., Luders, M., & Skjetne, J. H. (2010). Too many Facebook "friends"? Content sharing and sociability versus the need for privacy in social network sites. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 26(11-12), 1006-030.
Buxmann, P., & Krasnova, H. (2013, January 21).Facebook makes users envious and dissatisfied. Retrieved from http://www.tu-darmstadt.de/vorbeischauen/aktuell/ni_63808.en.jsp
Carpenter, J., Green, M., & LaFlam, J. (2011). People or profiles: individual differences in online social networking use. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 538-541.
DiGrazia, J., McKelvey, K., Bollen, J., & Rojas, F. (2013). More tweets, more votes: Social media as a quantitative indicator of political behavior. PLoS ONE, 8(11): e79449. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.00794499
Debatin, B., Lovejoy, J., Horn, A., & Hughes, B. (2009). Facebook and online privacy: Attitudes, behaviors, and unintended consequences. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15, 83-108.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-168.
Fitzgerald, B. (2012). Most popular sites 2012: Alexa ranks the 500 most-visited websites. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/most-popular-sites-2012-alexa_n_1761365.html
Franceschi-Bicchierai, L. (2012, November 03). How is facebook addiction affecting our minds?. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/11/03/facebook-addiction/
Garrett, R. K. (2011). Troubling consequences of online political rumoring. Human Communication Research, 37(2), 255-274.
Herther, N. K. (2011). All the news that's fit to post. Or is it? Searcher ,19(5), 20-28.
Holmes, J. (2010). Media watch: Accusations and reputations (02/08/2010). ABC Media Watch. Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s2971299.htm
Jackson, B., Kiely, E., & Gore, D. (2012). Fact Check. FactCheck.org . Retrieved from http://factcheck.org/ask-factcheck/
Kerbel, M. R., & Bloom, J. D. (2005). Blog for America and civic involvement, The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 10(4), 3-27.
Loader, B., & Mercea, D. (2011). Networking democracy?. Information, Communication & Society, 14(6), 757-769.
McClurg, S. D. (2006). The electoral relevance of political talk: Examining disagreement and expertise effects in social networks on political participation. American Journal of Political Science, 50(3), 737-754.
Mikkleson, B., & Mikkleson, D. (2012). Mitt Romney: I can relate to black people. Snopes. Retrieved from http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/blackcommunity.asp
Morgan, M., Shanahan, J., & Signorielli, N. (2009). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & M.B. Oliver (Eds.) Media effects: Advances in theory and research, 3rd ed. (pp. 34-49). New York: Routledge.
North, N. S. (2011). Social media’s role in branding: A study of social media use and the cultivation of brand affect, trust, and loyalty. Master’s Thesis: University of Texas, Austin, TX.
Ortutay, B. (2012). Facebook tops 1 billion users. Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/10/04/facebook-tops-1-billion-users/1612613/
Price, T. (2012). Social media and politics. CQ Researcher, 22(36), 865-888.
Rainie, L., & Smith, A. (2012). Politics on social networking sites. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Politics-on-SNS.aspx
Rainie, L., Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., Brady, H., & Verba, S. (2012). Social media and political engagement. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2012/PIP_SocialMediaAndPoliticalEngagement_PDF.pdf
Roskos-Ewoldsen, B., Davies, J., & Roskos-Ewoldsen, D. R. (2004). Implications of the mental models approach for cultivation theory. Communications, 29, 345-363.
Ross, C., Orr, E. S., Sisic, M., Arseneault, J. M., Simmering, M. & Orr, R. (2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2), 578-86.
Semiatin, R. (2012). Campaigns on the cutting edge. (2nd ed.). Washington DC: Sage.
Shirky, C. (2011). The political power of social media. Foreign Affairs, 90(1), 28-41.
Shrum, L. (1997). The role of source confusion in cultivation effects may depend on procession strategy: A comment on Mares (1996). Human Communication Research, 24, 349-358.
Slater, M. D. (2007). Reinforcing spirals: The mutual influence of media selectivity and media effects and their impact on individual and social identity. Communication Theory, 17(3), 281-303.
Smith, A. & Rainie, L. (2008). The Internet and the 2008 election. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/The-Internet-and-the-2008-Election/01-Summary-of-Findings.aspx
Walton, A. G. (2012). Internet addiction shows up in the brain. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/01/17/internet-addiction-shows-up-in-the-brain/
Walton, A. G. (2012). Internet addiction is the new mental disorder. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/10/02/the-new-mental-health-disorder-internet-addiction/
Williams, C. B. & Gulati, G.J. (2007). Social networks in political campaigns: Facebook and the 2006 midterm elections. American Political Science Association, 1-24.
Wood, S. (1990). Television's first political spot ad campaign: Eisenhower answers America. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 20(2), 265-283.
Woodard, E. H., & Gridina, N. (2000). Media in the home. Retrieved from http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Media_and_Developing_Child/mediasurvey/survey7.pdf
Xenos, M., & Moy, P. (2007). Direct and differential effects of the internet on political and civic engagement. Journal of communication, 57(4), 704-718.
Yuan, K., Qin, W., Wang, G., Zeng, F., Zhao, L., Yang, X., … Tian , J. (2011) Microstructure abnormalities in adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder. PLoS ONE 6(6): e20708.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020708
Zhang, W., Johnson, T. J., Seltzer, T. & Bichard, S.L. (2010). The revolution will be networked: The influence of social networking sites on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review, 28(1), 75-92.
Zhou, Y., Lin, F., Du, Y. S., Qin, L. D., Zhao, Z. M., Xu, J. R., & Lei, H. (2011). Gray matter abnormalities in Internet addiction: A voxel-based morphometry study. European Journal of Radiology,79(1), 92-95.
Downloads
Published
2016-05-31
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
