News Media Use and Crime Perceptions: The Dual Role of Ideology

This study employs a three-wave panel survey in Sweden to test the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) regarding crime perceptions. It assesses DSMM using political ideology as a susceptibility variable, revealing ideology's role as a predictor of news media use and in shaping citizens' perceptions. This paper investigates how this process depends on socio-economic and socio-cultural dimensions. Results lend partial support for assumptions made by the DSMM, indicating that individuals rely on their ideological predispositions in news selection. This work highlights ideology's role in selective exposure and its role in evolving crime perceptions, emphasizing the importance of individualized modeling in understanding media effects in an expanding media landscape.