As modern society transitions to a hyperconnected society, individuals are suffering in many areas as the digital divide brings differential access to the Internet and new media of certain groups. Meanwhile, as mobile became an important Internet medi...
As modern society transitions to a hyperconnected society, individuals are suffering in many areas as the digital divide brings differential access to the Internet and new media of certain groups. Meanwhile, as mobile became an important Internet medium, social media secured the position of an important source of information for individuals, and learning and knowledge acquisition through YouTube through digital capabilities, especially mobile capabilities, affected individual information life.
This study aims to test whether individuals' digital capabilities and the use of YouTube, a new media, affect individual political attitudes and political participation through the self-efficacy and digital use of individual digital capabilities.
To this end, it primarily tests whether there is a significant digital gap in Korea, that is, whether there is a digital gap according to gender, age, region, urban size, and political orientation, that is, a difference in individual digital capabilities. Next, this digital gap tests whether the use of YouTube, which is available to individuals for digital capabilities and social networks, affects political attitudes and participation through individual digital personal efficacy and mobile use.
Based on previous studies, this study designed a research model with a path through which mobile capabilities and YouTube use affect political attitudes and online political participation through individual digital self-efficacy and mobile use. To this end, nine basic hypotheses, two mediating effect hypotheses, and five moderating effect hypotheses were designed.
This study prepared a survey to test the hypothesis designed by the research model and conducted a survey of 200 people nationwide through a specialized research institution. Using the data from the survey, the research model was converted into a structural equation, and the hypothesis was tested using AMOS and SmartPLS.
Through this empirical analysis, this study revealed that there is a digital gap according to some demographic variables in Korea. By region, there was a gap in digital capabilities between the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area, the difference according to party participation was significant, and there was a significant gap in age.
The impact of this gap on individual mobile capabilities on political attitudes and political participation through mobile use was identified. Based on age standards, there was a significant difference in the influence of mobile capabilities and YouTube use on political participation in the 50s and in the 40s and 60s in the influence of self-efficacy on political participation. Looking at the areas of the metropolitan area and the non-metropolitan area, the self-efficacy in digital activities was higher in the non-metropolitan area, and the use of YouTube was also higher in the non-metropolitan area. However, there was no significant difference in political behavior.
Based on the size of cities in large cities and small cities, it was found that respondents in large cities were receiving more political influence from mobile use and digital capabilities.
Based on political orientation, there was no significant difference between conservatives and progressives in the impact of YouTube use on mobile use, but there was a high level of significance difference between conservatives and moderates, and conservative respondents were more influenced. It turns out that a group with a clear political orientation is influenced by greater political action.
From a gender perspective, the impact of mobile activities on political participation was found to be more significantly affected by male respondents, and women were more affected by political participation through self-efficacy gained from mobile activities. In other words, the influence of digital competency is greater in men, and the effect of self-efficacy on political behavior is greater in women. This means that men are more politically influenced by their high digital capabilities, but the influence of female respondents who have internally gained self-efficacy is high.