Are Chinese Netizens Willing to Speak Out? The Spiral of Silence in Public Reactions to Controversial Food Safety Issues on Social Media

Linjia Xu, Jiaying Liu, Jarim Kim and Myoung-Gi Chon
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Linjia Xu: School of Chinese Language and Literature, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China
Jiaying Liu: Department of Communication Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Jarim Kim: Department of Communication, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
Myoung-Gi Chon: School of Communication and Journalism, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: This study examines the influential factors posited by the Spiral of Silence Theory (SoS) in shaping people’s perceptions of the overall public opinion towards food safety issues in China and their willingness to speak out. Two highly controversial issues, including genetically modified (GM) food and food additives, are examined. Using an online opt-in panel in China, we collected survey responses from a total of 1089 respondents, with a comparable age distribution to that of Chinese netizens, as indicated in the most recent census. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions were conducted to make statistical inferences about the proposed research questions and hypotheses. Findings suggest that perceived opinion incongruence, self-relevance, and self-influence significantly affected the extent to which people were willing to express their opinions on social media for the genetically modified food issue, but not the use of food additive issue. The study provides evidence of the silencing effect on publicly expressing opinions about the food safety related issues in China and clarifies the potential boundary conditions of the SoS mechanism in the context of Chinese social media where the majority of public opinions come into formation.

Keywords: genetically modified food; food additives; spiral of silence; public opinion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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