Sharing news in social media. Narrowcasting and social power

Summary

This research analyses the way in which news sharing activity diverges according to the different targets defined by social power theory. This theory posits that interactions among individuals are driven by goal-oriented behaviors towards their peers, namely: reward, coercion, legitimation, identification, referential or expertise showcase. Our paper aims to identify how such objectives influence on what news are shared (hard or soft, emotional, or useful) and where are they shared (open asymmetrical, broadcast model, such Facebook or Twitter, or closed, symmetrical, narrowcast platforms like WhatsApp). We applied an experience sample method that gathered information regarding 830 pieces of news shared by 279 participants in Spain. Among the main results introduced by our study we point that the most common targets when sharing news were reward, legitimation, and expertise showcase. Open asymmetrical social media were used to share news items with proselytizing goals (to convince, persuade or correct). Such goals were pursued by sharing hard news, meanwhile soft news where shared mostly to reward peers, understood as a way of bonding pre-existing social links. The emotional aspect (positive affect) is only relevant when the goal is identification. In the rest of occasions, usefulness is the most powerful drier to news sharing.