Cross-Cutting Scanning, Integrating, and Interacting: Dimensions of Cross-Cutting Exposure on Social Media and Political Participation

Abstract

This study attempts to explicate the concept of cross-cutting exposure in the current media environment and to clarify its effects on political participation. Employing a two-wave survey of data collected during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, the study empirically revealed that cross-cutting exposure in the social media environment comprises three subdimensions: cross-cutting scanning, cross-cutting integrating, and cross-cutting interacting. These three different experiences yield a distinctive influence on the level of political participation. Cross-cutting interacting is the only positive predictor of political participation, whereas cross-cutting scanning and integrating are not significantly associated with political participation. Implications of these results for deliberative democracy and participatory democracy are discussed.