Assessing the Effects of Privacy Concerns on Social Media-Driven Political Discussions and Participation: A Comparative Study of Asian and Western Contexts

Abstract

Research extensively explores how social media influences online political participation, yet there is limited focus on the cognitive factors that shape user interactions on these platforms. Moreover, most of this research centers around Western democracies, leaving a gap in understanding its applicability in more conservative, non-Western settings. This study builds upon the communication mediation model to enhance theoretical insights into social media’s role, particularly focusing on concerns about online privacy. By analyzing survey data from the United States (US), China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, we find that the use of social media for news is positively associated with engaging in political discussions on social media (both heterogeneous/diverse and homogeneous/similar) and online political participation across all contexts. Nonetheless, except for Singapore, our observations indicate a negative relationship between privacy concerns and participation in all contexts. Further, moderated mediation analysis reveals that in Asian countries, the tendency of social media news to facilitate online political participation through political discussion is significantly reduced for those more concerned about online privacy. This pattern is consistent in the US for heterogeneous but not for homogenous discussions. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed, including the differential findings from the US.