Online-Network-Group Use and Political-Participation Intention in China: The Analysis Based on CSS 2019 Survey Data

Although there are many studies discussing the effect of Internet use on political participation, the literature has rarely focused on the relationship between the use of online-network groups and the political-participation intention in contemporary China. The discussion of this relationship is significant, as it offers a new perspective on reviewing the mobilization theory of media, especially in the context of online-network groups, and potentially provides a new channel for mobilizing a wider range of people for politics once the relationship is significant. This study aims to answer the following question: Can we predict the political-participation intention of Chinese citizens through the use of online-network groups? Based on the data of the China Social Survey 2019, this study uses the hierarchical logistic-regression method. The research finds that the specific online-network groups that can predict political-participation intention are mainly concentrated in the category of emotional relationships. Among them, although most of the online-network groups are positively correlated with political-participation intention, the possibility of generating political-participation intention of those who join the relative network group is significantly lower than for those who do not. The virtual connection built by online communication technology, the social relations, and the influence of social groups on individuals can help to explain the correlation between them.