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Exploring the Potential for Mobile Communications to Engender an Engaged Citizenry: A Comparative Study of University Students in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan

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Mobile Media, Political Participation, and Civic Activism in Asia

Abstract

Over half of the world’s mobile subscriptions are in the Asia-Pacific region, yet the examination of the political implications of mobile phone use in the region is still in its infancy. Using a comparative framework and probability samples of university students in China (N = 896), Hong Kong (N = 794), and Taiwan (N = 982), this study examines different uses of mobile phones and their impact on several indicators of democratic engagement. Findings were very similar across samples. Informational uses of mobile phones were related to more political knowledge, while uses for political discussion were related to offline discussion, political participation, and civic participation. Mobile app use for political discussion was also significant and explained additional variance. While mobile information seeking was not related to either political or civic participation, additional analyses showed that the influence was indirect through mobile political discussion. The study furthers the literature by demonstrating robust relationships between mobile phone use and democratic engagement under different socio-political systems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the C-Centre of the School of Journalism and Communication, CUHK (SS13572) for the China and Taiwan samples, and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (CUHK/459713) for the Hong Kong sample.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Michael Chan, Francis Lee & Hsuan-ting Chen

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  1. Michael Chan
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  2. Francis Lee
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  3. Hsuan-ting Chen
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Correspondence to Michael Chan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

    Ran Wei

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Chan, M., Lee, F., Chen, Ht. (2016). Exploring the Potential for Mobile Communications to Engender an Engaged Citizenry: A Comparative Study of University Students in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In: Wei, R. (eds) Mobile Media, Political Participation, and Civic Activism in Asia. Mobile Communication in Asia: Local Insights, Global Implications. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0917-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0917-8_11

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