Social Media and Public Discourse

Abstract

In this paper we present the proposal for a research study that aims at explaining the consequences of social media use on mass media content and public discourse. Social media is defined as a set of networked communication platforms that enable generation, distribution and consumption of user generated content. Technology features of the social media platforms are at the center of our analysis. The use of social media features is conceptualized using technology affordance theory. Borrowing from mass communication literature, we argue that media content is produced as a result of a dialectical relationship between media discourse and public opinion. The consequences of social media use on public discourse are conceptualized in terms of the changes in the dialectics between media discourse and public opinion resulting from the use of social media. Two types of public discourses are identified. We develop theory from extant literature to arrive at proposition on consequences of use of specific social media features on the media content and public discourse. Propositions are presented both for the general public discourse case and the context of particular type of discourses. We conclude this proposal by discussing the potential contributions of our study.