Unraveling the relationships between smartphone use, exposure to heterogeneity, political efficacy, and political participation: a mediation model approach

Abstract

This paper assesses how use of smartphones relates to exposure to heterogeneity, political efficacy, and political engagement and suggests a new mediation model that can be applied to mobile communication. Drawing on online survey data collected during the 2012 presidential election in South Korea, this study finds that exposure to heterogeneity and political efficacy jointly mediate the impact of informational uses of smartphones on political participation. The current study also shows that informational uses of smartphones are significantly related to encounters with heterogeneity, political efficacy, and participatory behaviors. Additionally, recreational uses of smartphones were found to have a positive association with exposure to heterogeneity. However, relational uses of smartphones were not associated with democratic outcomes. The findings suggest that smartphones, by increasing the possibility of encountering diversity and subsequently enhancing political efficacy, create an additional pathway to citizen engagement in democratic processes.