Explaining Online News Engagement Based on Browsing Behavior: Creatures of Habit?

Understanding how citizens keep themselves informed about current affairs is crucial for a functioning democracy. Extant research suggests that in an increasingly fragmented digital news environment, search engines and social media platforms promote more incidental, but potentially more shallow mode...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial science computer review Vol. 38; no. 5; pp. 616 - 632
Main Authors Möller, Judith, van de Velde, Robbert Nicolai, Merten, Lisa, Puschmann, Cornelius
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2020
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Browsing
Citizens
Consumption
Data
Democracy
Digital media
Mass media
News
News media
Search engines
Social media
Social networks
Tracking
Websites
tracking data
survey data
social media
information search
news use
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Summary:Understanding how citizens keep themselves informed about current affairs is crucial for a functioning democracy. Extant research suggests that in an increasingly fragmented digital news environment, search engines and social media platforms promote more incidental, but potentially more shallow modes of engagement with news compared to the act of routinely accessing a news organization’s website. In this study, we examine classic predictors of news consumption to explain the preference for three modes of news engagement in online tracking data: routine news use, news use triggered by social media, and news use as part of a general search for information. In pursuit of this aim, we make use of a unique data set that combines tracking data with survey data. Our findings show differences in predictors between preference for regular (direct) engagement, general search-driven, and social media–driven modes of news engagement. In describing behavioral differences in news consumption patterns, we demonstrate a clear need for further analysis of behavioral tracking data in relation to self-reported measures in order to further qualify differences in modes of news engagement.
ISSN:0894-4393
1552-8286
DOI:10.1177/0894439319828012