News curation on social media as a pathway to political engagement

Drawing on a survey of 1,386 South Korean young adults, this study finds that news curation mediates the association between social media news use and political efficacy and participation. Analysis also reveals that political interest moderates the relationship between news curation and political efficacy and participation, with politically less interested people being more influenced by news curation than politically more interested people. The finding has significant implications as to how to rekindle young adults’ political involvement. This study contributes to the existing literature about social media’s impact on news consumption, by conceptualizing “news curation” as a unique method of engaging with social media and by illuminating its effects on democratic engagement.