Differential and interactive influences on political participation by different types of news activities and political conversation through social media

• Sample for social media users, 542 respondents, South Korea.
• Political conversation on social media was positively associated with political participation.
• The effects of social media news activities on political participation depend on political conversation.

This study investigates whether three different types of news activities (i.e., news reception, news following, and news dissemination) and political conversation via social media have differential and interactive relationships on political participation. Analyses of survey data of social media users revealed that political conversation via social media was positively associated with political participation. Moreover, political conversation moderated the relationships among the three types of news activities and participation. Effects of news activities on political participation increased with the frequency with which people talked about politics on social media.