Emotions and news on social media about climate change sharing. Moderating role of habits, previous attitudes and uses and gratifications among University students

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1425

Keywords:

climate change; social media; emotions; uses and gratifications theory; news consumption habits

Abstract

Introduction: This article analyzes the influence of emotions on users' intention to share news about climate change on social media. Media consumption habits, previous attitudes towards the issue and social media uses and gratifications sought are considered as moderating roles. Methodology: An online, self-administered, questionnaire was submitted to a sample of undergraduate students from different courses and centers placed at Madrid region. Data were statistically tested following simple and multiple linear regression, simple and multiple logistic regression and simple and multiple ordinal regression models. Results and conclusions: It is concluded that fear and anger are the most influential emotions on users' intention to share a piece of news on social media. Information seeking, news internalizing and previous attitudes are identified as moderating factors.

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Author Biographies

Francisco Segado-Boj, International University of La Rioja. Spain

Doctor in Journalism from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2008). Currently a professor at Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR), where he leads the Research Team “Comunicación y Sociedad Digital” [EN: Digital Communication and Society]. Accredited as the University Titular Professor, has twelve years of research recognized by CNEAI. His lines of research are focused on digital media and social networks, as well as scientific and academic communication. He has published dozens of articles about these topics on magazines like Telematics & Informatics, Comunicar, El Profesional de la Información, Journal of Scholarly Publishing o First Monday.  Currently he is the leading researcher of the Project “Consumo de noticias en medios sociales. Análisis de factores en la selección y difusión de contenidos mediáticos”, [EN: “News consumption on social media. Analysis of factors on the selection and dissemination of media content”], reference CSO2017-86312-R financed by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)

Jesús Díaz-Campo, International University of La Rioja. Spain

He has a degree in Journalism and PhD in Communication from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. He got a scholarship from Formación del Profesorado del Ministerio de Educación y Cultura and he did investigation residencies in the Journalism and Mass Communication Department of Tampere University (Finland) and in the offices of the European Journalism Training Association (Tilburg, Netherlands) and in the European Journalism Centre (Maastricht, Netherlands). Professor at the Enterprise and Communication Faculty of Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR), where he leads the Universitario en Comunicación e Identidad Corporativa Master and teaches several subjects since 2011. He has also taught at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (as an intern FPU) and in Universidad Pontificia Comillas. He is accredited by ANECA as University Titular Professor. Member of the Research Group Comunicación y Sociedad Digital (COYSODI) of Universidad Internacional de la Rioja. He is author of over forty articles published on several academic magazines (Telematics & Informatics, Transinformaçao, El Profesional de la Información, Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, Palabra Clave, Cuadernos.Info, Observatorio (OBS) or Historia y Comunicación Social, among others). Additionally, he has participated in different research projects obtained in competitive regime and has six years of research recognized by CNEAI. His main lines of research are focused on Communications Ethics; Corporative Social Responsibility; Political Communication and Social Networks; Radio.

Nuria Navarro-Sierra, Rey Juan Carlos University. Spain

Has a Degree and PhD with international major in Audiovisual Communication from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. She was hired as a trainee in the Department of Comunicación y Publicidad I through the program Formación del Profesorado Universitario del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte and did a residency research at the University of Lincoln (The U.K.). She is an Associated Professor in the courses and double courses of Periodismo, Comunicación Audiovisual y Periodismo. She has previously taught at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Centro de Estudios Superiores Felipe II, in the courses and degrees of Audiovisual Communication. She is member of the Research Group Investigación Visual, associated to Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain). Among her publications there are lines of research regarding television and radio in Spain, new business models or new digital communication media narrative.

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Published

2020-02-26

How to Cite

Segado-Boj, Francisco, Jesús Díaz-Campo, and Nuria Navarro-Sierra. 2020. “Emotions and news on social media about climate change sharing. Moderating role of habits, previous attitudes and uses and gratifications among University students”. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, no. 75 (February):245-69. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1425.

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