TY - JOUR
T1 - From silence to action
T2 - how weak-tie discussions facilitated cross-cutting participation on Chinese social media during and after COVID-19
AU - Yang, Sihao
AU - Peng, Kun
N1 - This work was supported by Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation [FRG-22-004-FA]
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.
PY - 2025/7/21
Y1 - 2025/7/21
N2 - Although the role of cross-cutting exposure in digital media has been extensively researched, the heated online debates surrounding COVID-19 issues in China may have altered the effect of this process. With the data gathered from two-wave surveys in COVID-19 pandemic time and post-pandemic time, this study constructs a moderated mediation model of pro-attitudinal selective exposure, online corrective participation, online cross-cutting discussion, and weak-tie discussion. The results indicate that individuals actively exposed to homogeneous media content during the COVID-19 pandemic were more inclined to participate in online cross-cutting discussions, consequently prompting corrective actions. Moreover, weak ties were found to enhance the mediating effect of online cross-cutting discussions, thereby breaking the silence of the opinion climate during COVID-19 pandemic time. Theoretically, this study provided a comprehensive picture of the underlying mechanism regarding cross-cutting discussion and subsequent participation by comparing two specific periods.
AB - Although the role of cross-cutting exposure in digital media has been extensively researched, the heated online debates surrounding COVID-19 issues in China may have altered the effect of this process. With the data gathered from two-wave surveys in COVID-19 pandemic time and post-pandemic time, this study constructs a moderated mediation model of pro-attitudinal selective exposure, online corrective participation, online cross-cutting discussion, and weak-tie discussion. The results indicate that individuals actively exposed to homogeneous media content during the COVID-19 pandemic were more inclined to participate in online cross-cutting discussions, consequently prompting corrective actions. Moreover, weak ties were found to enhance the mediating effect of online cross-cutting discussions, thereby breaking the silence of the opinion climate during COVID-19 pandemic time. Theoretically, this study provided a comprehensive picture of the underlying mechanism regarding cross-cutting discussion and subsequent participation by comparing two specific periods.
KW - Corrective actions
KW - Cross-cutting discussion
KW - Selective exposure
KW - Weak ties
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105011201250&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-025-08167-2
U2 - 10.1007/s12144-025-08167-2
DO - 10.1007/s12144-025-08167-2
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:105011201250
SN - 1046-1310
JO - Current Psychology
JF - Current Psychology
ER -
