Zufällig gut informiert? Folgen gezielter und zufälliger Nachrichtenkontakte für politisches Wissen und subjektive Informiertheit

Abstract

Facebook, with its extensive reach, is also an increasingly important source for news. As an information intermediary it enables users to use news in an active (searching intentionally) or passive way (incidental exposure). So far, the effects of incidental exposure
on citizens’ political knowledge has been only partially resolved. This paper examines how intensity and mode of using Facebook relate to citizens’ factual knowledge about a political news topic and their feeling of being well-informed. Collected data from a telephone survey representative for the German adult population (14+) shows that Facebook use does not influence political knowledge. However, we find differences concerning the subjective feeling of being well-informed, depending on whether Facebook is used intentionally as a source for news. In this context citizens’ political interest plays an important role, especially concerning the question whether incidental news exposure on Facebook contributes to the feeling of being well-informed.