Exploring selective exposure and selective avoidance behavior in social media

This study investigates social media users’ preferences of encountering or actively avoiding undesired content and conflicts in social interaction with others. Based on a nationwide survey (N=3706) conducted in Finland and using principal component analysis, we identify three different types of social media use in relation to online information sharing and social interaction: conformist, provocative and protective. We then modelled those variations according to demographic variables and subjective life satisfaction. We found that women are more likely to use social media in a conformist and protective way whereas men have a higher probability to be provocative. We also found that younger and more educated people have a higher probability to use social media in a conformist and protective way. Finally, we suggest that subjective life satisfaction more powerfully predicts provocative use compared to age or education.