Effects of perceived heterogeneity on social media use

Abstract

Recently, the use of social media such as Facebook has often exposed users to opposite opinions. Thus, sometimes conflicts arise, which consequently have a certain impact on the user’s behavior related to the use of social media. Nevertheless, prior research has not adequately studied the negative effects of exposure to heterogeneous opinions. Hence, the study focused on the concept of cognitive dissonance, and tried to determine the amount of mental discomfort the user would get when the user is faced with heterogeneous opinions. In addition, the study also discussed the kinds of strategic behaviors the users would need to take to resolve the uncomfortable psychological state. To do this, we adopted a structural equation modeling methodology based on 240 questionnaire responses. As a result, we found that the more often the users use social media, the more often they are exposed to opposite opinions and the more uncomfortable they feel. Moreover, in order to resolve these uncomfortable feelings, it appears that these users tend to take actions such as selective exposure and affective behavior.