Does Online News Reading and Sharing Shape Perceptions of the Internet as a Place for Public Deliberations?

With the rapid development of interactive communication technology, the Internet is a major source of news and also plays an important role in connecting individual members of society. However, Internet users may have different perspectives on whether the Internet positively functions as a medium for public deliberation. Based on the assumption that being exposed to information on public affairs is a crucial step for one's civic engagement, this study explores how individuals' motives related to news consumption, elaborative online news reading, and online news sharing influence their perceptions of online deliberation using structural equation modeling method (N = 998). The study finds significant relationships between news consumption motives and elaborative news reading and sharing behaviors, but only elaborative reading behavior had a significant effect on one's perceptions of online deliberation. The implications of these findings are discussed.