Title: Can media system dependency account for social media? Or should communication infrastructure theory take care of it? – Sorin Adam Matei
Headings: Can media system dependency account for social media? Or should communication infrastructure theory take care of it?
Can media system dependency account for social media? Or should communication infrastructure theory take care of it?
Media System Dependency Theory Core principles
Sorin Adam Matei

Content: Here, Internet connectedness is associated with civic participation and indirectly contributes to “belonging” to a residential community. However, in predominantly Asian and Latino areas, the Internet is disengaged from communication environments that lead to belonging, being associated with mainstream media. In these communities its contribution is contradictory; although it probably contributes to the process of ethnic assimilation, it might also lead to disengagement of most educated and technologically savvy residents from their neighborhoods. A possible “magnifying glass effect” is proposed as explanation for the differential integration of new media in community life. ← The social impact of social media: creator or destroyer of social capital? Does agenda setting theory still apply to social media? →
Sorin Adam Matei
Sorin Adam Matei - Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Communication at Purdue University - studies the relationship between information technology and social groups. He published papers and articles in Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Information Society, and Foreign Policy.