Regionality of Messaging Applications: Everyday Socialization as a Gateway to Civic and Political Participation in China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States

Although there is a growing number of studies examining the political significance of messaging applications, the regional aspects of messaging applications have been overlooked by many in a global market dominated by American digital platforms. This study proposes an analytical framework of regionality concerning the characteristics of digital platforms, including origin, development, and usage. Messaging applications that are defined as regional have their origin, development, and usage occurring within a single country. This study takes a comparative approach to understand the social and political behaviors on regional messaging applications, including WeChat in China, LINE in Japan, KakaoTalk in South Korea, and WhatsApp and/or Snapchat in the United States. Using an online survey distributed in the four countries, we find that everyday socialization is a determining factor in political conversations on regional messaging applications, which in turn leads to civic and political participation. This mediation effect is confirmed in China, Japan, and South Korea, not in the United States. This study argues for the importance of considering the political economy of digital platforms, the global/regional characteristics of messaging applications, and the role of everyday socialization as a driving mobilizing force in political communication.