The Impact of Social Media Dependency on Chinese Netizens' Willingness to Forward Health Rumors: The Moderating Role of Social Media Literacy

Yanli Li, Emma Mohamad and Arina Anis Azlan

Studies in Media and Communication, 2025, vol. 13, issue 1, 154-162

Abstract: In the digital era, the forwarding of false health rumors by netizens causes secondary dissemination of information, leading to its fission-like spread and bringing serious social problems. Based on an empirical survey of Chinese netizens, this paper aims to explore how social media dependency and media literacy affect netizens' willingness to forward health rumors. Data analysis found that social media dependency has a significant positive impact on forwarding willingness, social media literacy has a significant negative impact, and social media literacy has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between social media dependency and forwarding willingness. As the level of netizens' social media literacy changes, the impact of social media dependency on the forwarding willingness is no longer a simple linear positive correlation. High social media literacy will weaken its positive promoting effect and even make it show a negative change.

Date: 2025
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