One way or another? Discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity on social networking sites as pathways to polarization in Czechia

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on social networking sites and their role in partisan-based affective polarization and political antagonism. We examine the relationship by testing variables that indicate selective exposure to counter-attitudinal and pro-attitudinal information. The results from Czech survey data (n = 2,792) collected in 2020 show a positive relationship between both perceived discussion disagreement and attitudinal homogeneity of the network to political antagonism, and a positive relationship between the perceived attitudinal homogeneity of the network and affective polarization. The results thus question the existence of a single universal social media use pattern contributing to polarization.

KEYWORDS:

• Social networking sites
• affective polarization
• disagreement
• political antagonism
• negativity
• politically motivated unfriending
• network homogeneity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2023.2202650.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by the project Political polarization in the Czech Republic: The case of multi-party system (grant no. GA19-24724S) of the Czech Science Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Alena Macková

Alena Macková is assistant professor at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. She has doctoral degree in political science, and she is principal investigator in the project Political Polarization in the Czech Republic: the Case of Multiparty System. She focuses in her research on changes in new information environment and their consequences for political communication.

Martina Novotná

Martina Novotná is Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. Her research focuses on informal cross-cutting political talk online, emphasizing incivility and intolerance.

Lucie Čejková

Lucie Čejková is Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. She deals with research on media trust and attitudes.

Lenka Hrbková

Lenka Hrbková is assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. She has doctoral degree in political science and in her research she focuses on the political attitudes, especially on the issue of affective polarization. She is principal investigator in the project The current form and sources of political conflict and politically motivated division of Czech society.