Liking versus commenting on online news: effects of
expression affordances on political attitudes
Dublin Core
Title
Liking versus commenting on online news: effects of
expression affordances on political attitudes
expression affordances on political attitudes
Subject
political expression, technological affordance, TIME theory, attitude extremity, affective polarization, news comments
Description
By performing actions such as “liking” a post, commenting on it, or sharing it with others, we are constantly expressing our opinions about ongo-
ing news and public affairs on online media platforms. How do these acts of expression affect our feelings and opinions? We address this ques-
tion from an “affordance” perspective, focusing on the effects of both the presence of the expression affordance (cue effects) and users’ actual
engagement with it (action effects). We conducted an online experiment (N 1⁄4 368) on a news website with thumbs-up/down and/or commenting
as low-effort and high-effort expression affordances, respectively. Data revealed that the low-effort affordance led to more affective polarization
while the high-effort affordance promoted increased interest in deliberation. Merely presenting a commenting cue mitigated affective polarization
by increasing perceived interactivity. However, when users engaged the affordance by providing comments, it tended to reinforce pre-existing
opinions. These findings have theoretical and practical implications.
ing news and public affairs on online media platforms. How do these acts of expression affect our feelings and opinions? We address this ques-
tion from an “affordance” perspective, focusing on the effects of both the presence of the expression affordance (cue effects) and users’ actual
engagement with it (action effects). We conducted an online experiment (N 1⁄4 368) on a news website with thumbs-up/down and/or commenting
as low-effort and high-effort expression affordances, respectively. Data revealed that the low-effort affordance led to more affective polarization
while the high-effort affordance promoted increased interest in deliberation. Merely presenting a commenting cue mitigated affective polarization
by increasing perceived interactivity. However, when users engaged the affordance by providing comments, it tended to reinforce pre-existing
opinions. These findings have theoretical and practical implications.
Creator
Jinping Wang, S. Shyam Sundar
Source
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmac018
Date
1 August 2022
Contributor
PERI IRAWAN
Format
PDF
Language
ENGLISH
Type
TEXT
Files
Collection
Citation
Jinping Wang, S. Shyam Sundar, “Liking versus commenting on online news: effects of
expression affordances on political attitudes,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed October 31, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/8640.
expression affordances on political attitudes,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed October 31, 2025, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/8640.