Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’
Abstract Democratic theorists and the public emphasize the centrality of news media to a well-functioning society. Yet, there are reasons to believe that news exposure can have a range of largely overlooked detrimental effects. This preregistered project examines news exposure effects on desirable o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2022-11-01
|
| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01423-x |
| _version_ | 1797841154682650624 |
|---|---|
| author | Magdalena Wojcieszak Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg Andreu Casas Ericka Menchen-Trevino Sjifra de Leeuw Alexandre Gonçalves Miriam Boon |
| author_facet | Magdalena Wojcieszak Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg Andreu Casas Ericka Menchen-Trevino Sjifra de Leeuw Alexandre Gonçalves Miriam Boon |
| author_sort | Magdalena Wojcieszak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Democratic theorists and the public emphasize the centrality of news media to a well-functioning society. Yet, there are reasons to believe that news exposure can have a range of largely overlooked detrimental effects. This preregistered project examines news exposure effects on desirable outcomes, i.e., political knowledge, participation, and support for compromise, and detrimental outcomes, i.e., attitude and affective polarization, negative system perceptions, and worsened individual well-being. We rely on two complementary over-time experiments that combine participants’ survey self-reports and their behavioral browsing data: one that incentivized participants to take a ’news vacation’ for a week (N = 803; 6M visits) in the US, the other to ‘news binge’ for 2 weeks (N = 939; 4M visits) in Poland. Across both experiments, we demonstrate that reducing or increasing news exposure has no impact on the positive or negative outcomes tested. These null effects emerge irrespective of participants’ prior levels of news consumption and whether prior news diet was like-minded, and regardless of compliance levels. We argue that these findings reflect the reality of limited news exposure in the real world, with news exposure comprising on average roughly 3% of citizens’ online information diet. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:26:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81f054780eb1460bbcd2087e11c9946d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:26:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-81f054780eb1460bbcd2087e11c9946d2023-04-23T11:12:04ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922022-11-019111010.1057/s41599-022-01423-xNull effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’Magdalena Wojcieszak0Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg1Andreu Casas2Ericka Menchen-Trevino3Sjifra de Leeuw4Alexandre Gonçalves5Miriam Boon6University of California-DavisUniversity of AmsterdamVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmerican UniversityUniversity of AmsterdamColumbia UniversityUniversity of ReginaAbstract Democratic theorists and the public emphasize the centrality of news media to a well-functioning society. Yet, there are reasons to believe that news exposure can have a range of largely overlooked detrimental effects. This preregistered project examines news exposure effects on desirable outcomes, i.e., political knowledge, participation, and support for compromise, and detrimental outcomes, i.e., attitude and affective polarization, negative system perceptions, and worsened individual well-being. We rely on two complementary over-time experiments that combine participants’ survey self-reports and their behavioral browsing data: one that incentivized participants to take a ’news vacation’ for a week (N = 803; 6M visits) in the US, the other to ‘news binge’ for 2 weeks (N = 939; 4M visits) in Poland. Across both experiments, we demonstrate that reducing or increasing news exposure has no impact on the positive or negative outcomes tested. These null effects emerge irrespective of participants’ prior levels of news consumption and whether prior news diet was like-minded, and regardless of compliance levels. We argue that these findings reflect the reality of limited news exposure in the real world, with news exposure comprising on average roughly 3% of citizens’ online information diet.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01423-x |
| spellingShingle | Magdalena Wojcieszak Bernhard Clemm von Hohenberg Andreu Casas Ericka Menchen-Trevino Sjifra de Leeuw Alexandre Gonçalves Miriam Boon Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’ Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’ |
| title_full | Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’ |
| title_fullStr | Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’ |
| title_full_unstemmed | Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’ |
| title_short | Null effects of news exposure: a test of the (un)desirable effects of a ‘news vacation’ and ‘news binging’ |
| title_sort | null effects of news exposure a test of the un desirable effects of a news vacation and news binging |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01423-x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT magdalenawojcieszak nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging AT bernhardclemmvonhohenberg nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging AT andreucasas nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging AT erickamenchentrevino nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging AT sjifradeleeuw nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging AT alexandregoncalves nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging AT miriamboon nulleffectsofnewsexposureatestoftheundesirableeffectsofanewsvacationandnewsbinging |