Spiral of silence on Social Networking Sites: A comparative Analysis of GenZ and Millennia’s Expression of Opinion about Public Police

Abstract

Social networking sites has altered the desire to express opinion by enhancing social visibility and peer review. Despite the fact that digital plate forms may offer an opportunity to discuss the issues, users tend to practice self-censorship because of perceived social pressure. This research uses Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s Spiral of Silence theory as a basis to analyze the effect of perceived opinion climate and willingness to self-censor on social media. A quantitative cross-sectional survey research method using multi-items Likert scale was used to collect data from social media users who belong to the Genz and Millennial generation cohort. The statistical analyses consisted of correlation test and group comparisons to study the differences between the generations and the predictive relationships. The results reveal that perceived opinion climate is a key factor in self-censorship, accounting for o.o4 correlation in these variables. Further, it is noted that result varies among Genz and Millennials. For Genz discussion about public policy on SNS is more correlated with self-censorship which implies that Genz expressions on social media are still limited by fear of criticism and social judgment despite their high online activities. However, it was noted that millennials express their opinion without any social fear. Trust in public institutions did not play a significant role in determining the expression of opinion for both generations. In general, the research indicates that self-censorship on social media is mainly influenced by perceived social climates and the characteristics of different generations, providing valuable understanding of current digital political communication.

Keywords: Spiral of Silence, Social Networking Sites, Genz Millennia’s Expression, Opinion, Public Police