How college students read and write on the web: The role of ICT use in processing online information

• This study examines the link between ICT use and processing online information.
• Credibility of news reports was correlated with enjoyment, knowledge gain, etc.
• Recall of online news was related to credibility, enjoyment, knowledge gain, etc.
• The study widens the theoretical and analytical scope of information processing.

The diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) has enabled people to process more information than at any time in human history. Despite a growing body of scholarship in ICT use and information processing, we still know very little about how people process mediated information in an online environment. This study contributes to the understanding of this process by investigating the connection between ICT use and processing of online news information. Through an experiment (N = 114), several interesting relationships were detected. First, perceived credibility of a news article was significantly correlated with enjoyment, knowledge gain, and motivation. In addition, recall was significantly related to credibility, enjoyment, knowledge, and motivation. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.