Web Third-Person Effect Hypothesis: Do likes and Shares Affect Users’ Perceptions?

Abstract

This paper studies the web third-person effect (WTPE) hypothesis in the context of news websites and social media.Specifically, the study examines the role of social media metrics (i.e., shares and likes of news articles) in shaping users' opinion about the websites.Users' news sharing intention in social media is also investigated.Based on a structured online questionnaire (N = 7,404), the results confirm that WTPE can be found in social media metrics without the presence of specific message content.It should be noted that the effect was found at three perceptual levels, self, friends, and other users.Regarding intention for news sharing, text was indicated as the most important reason among Internet users.Finally, the work demonstrates significant correlations between WTPE and article characteristics that influence people's attitudes to share news online.

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