Spiral of Silence in the Social Media Era: A Simulation Approach to the Interplay Between Social Networks and Mass Media

Abstract

Interpersonal networks and traditional mass media are more intertwined than ever as evidenced by the proliferation of social media. However, it remains unclear how the interplay between the two shapes the way individuals monitor opinion climates, which play a critical role in public opinion dynamics. Using an agent-based modeling (ABM) approach, this study aims to explore the conditions under which social networks and mass media interact to facilitate or hinder the emergence of large-scale spirals of silence. The simulation results show that the spiral of silence in a networked environment may be locally observable, but not likely on a global scale—unless the opinion representation of mass media becomes extremely homogeneous, individuals are hyperconnected, or both, the majority-minority opinion gap found locally seldom escalates to the global silence of the minority.