Incidental exposure to news: Predictors in the social media setting and effects on information gain online

• Published in: Computers in human behavior Vol. 75; pp. 1008 - 1015
• Main Authors: Lee, Jae Kook, Kim, Eunyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elmsford Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Digital media; Exposure; Heterogeneity; Incidental exposure; Network; News; News media; Recall; Social media; Social networks; Weak ties; Heterogeneity; Incidental exposure; Social media; Network; Weak ties
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.018

Employing two studies, this paper investigates incidental exposure to news online in terms of its influence on individual learning about public affairs as well as its predictors in the social media environment. Study 1, using an experimental design, shows that incidental exposure to news has significant effects on an individual's recognition and recall of information in news stories. The effects of incidental exposure on recall are mediated by actual exposure to information in the news (spending some time on reading), suggesting gateway effects of initial exposure by accident. Employing a national survey, Study 2 finds that social media network heterogeneity and proportion of weak ties are positively associated with likelihood of incidental exposure to news online, while most variables of individual characteristics are not. The significant effects of structural factors found suggest that incidental exposure can limit consequences of selective exposure. Further implications of the findings are discussed. •We investigated whether and how incidental exposure affects information gain.•Incidental exposure has significant causal effects on recognition and recall.•Actual exposure mediates the link between initial incidental exposure and recall.•Network heterogeneity and weak ties have positive associations with incidental exposure.