Ethnic Minorities’ Social Media Political Use: How Ingroup Identification, Selective Exposure, and Collective Efficacy Shape Social Media Political Expression

Abstract

Latinos represent a large ethnic minority group in the United States, but their political participation, including on social media, is low compared to other groups. Guided by social identity and social cognitive theories, this study examines the influence of two dimensions of ingroup identification (i.e., group self-definition, group self-investment) on Latinos(as)' political expression about immigration and Latino culture on social media, the mediating role of pro-attitudinal selective exposure to media content related to these topics, and the moderating role of collective efficacy. Results suggest a positive and consistent association between group self-definition and social media political expression (SMPE) about both topics. Further, pro-attitudinal selective exposure was found to mediate the relationship between group self-definition and expression about both topics. Finally, collective efficacy moderated the relationship between group self-definition and SMPE about immigration.

Social Media Expression as a Collective Strategy: How Perceptions of Discrimination and Group Status Shape US Latinos’ Online Discussions of Immigration

“…Therefore, this study extends Velasquez and colleagues' (2019) findings by incorporating and interrogating the role of perceived barriers to group permeability and synthesizes findings from Armenta et al (2017) with results from Velasquez et al (2019). If weak barriers to group permeability weaken one's in-group identification (Armenta et al, 2017), and in-group identification is positively associated with social media expression (Velasquez et al, 2019), then perceptions of group status impermeability should also be positively related to social media expression.…”

“…When group boundaries are perceived as permeable, in-group identification becomes weaker (Armenta et al, 2017). Simultaneously, prior evidence (Velasquez et al, 2019) suggests a positive relationship between in-group identification and social media expression. Specifically, Velasquez et al (2019) found that increased group self-definition (including factors such as self-stereotyping and perceived in-group homogeneity) was associated with Latinos' increased social media expression about immigration.…”

“…Specifically, Velasquez et al (2019) found that increased group self-definition (including factors such as self-stereotyping and perceived in-group homogeneity) was associated with Latinos’ increased social media expression about immigration. This association was also conditioned by participants’ perceived collective efficacy, whereby the association was stronger among those participants who strongly believed that, when working together, Latinos could achieve group-related goals (Velasquez et al, 2019).…”

“…Additionally, social media behaviors can be construed as performances of the self (Papacharissi, 2012). Thus, for members of marginalized groups, social media expression on central group issues can be considered manifestations of their social identity performed online (Velasquez et al, 2019). Moreover, as Hersby et al (2009) demonstrated, members of marginalized groups that perceive group boundaries to be highly impermeable are more likely to focus on highlighting positive aspects of their group and, more importantly, more likely to accept support from other in-group members as a strategy to enhance the social status of their group.…”

“… Authors’ Note The authors would like to mention that parts of the dataset used in this article have been used for a prior publication in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication . The full citation is Velasquez, A., Montgomery, G., & Hall, J. (2019).…”