Family, friends and taxi drivers in hybrid networks. Integrating the immediate social environment into the Spiral of Silence Theory

Authors

  • Christiane Eilders Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Department of Social Sciences, Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft III https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3064-7281
  • Marius Gerads Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Department of Social Sciences, Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft III https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6364-9657
  • Helmut Scherer Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Department of Journalism and Communication Research
  • Jule Scheper Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Department of Journalism and Communication Research https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6316-4238

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24434/j.scoms.2022.01.3060

Keywords:

spiral of silence, social environment, online communication, perceived climate of opinion, willingness to speak out, fear of isolation

Abstract

The relative neglect of the immediate social environment is one of the best-known criticisms of the Spiral of Silence Theory (SoS). Due to massive changes in communication technology, especially the advent of social media, the immediate social environment has become even more relevant which has amplified this gap. This paper integrates the immediate social environment into the SoS. The immediate social environment is the aggregate of individual actors whom one interacts with – a mix of strong and weak ties. The immediate social environment is conceptualized as part of a larger ego-centric network of various sources or observers which also includes the mass media. Based on this concept, this paper examines the entire chain of effects – from monitoring the environment via different sources to the willingness to express one’s opinion in public in front of different observers. Particular attention is directed to the crosslinks between the immediate social environment and the larger realm of society and mass media. The integration of the immediate social environment serves the goal of further refining the conditions of a relevant social context under which people fear different types of social isolation from different groups and subsequently do or do not express their opinions.

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Published

2022-06-29

How to Cite

Eilders, C., Gerads, M., Scherer, H., & Scheper, J. (2022). Family, friends and taxi drivers in hybrid networks. Integrating the immediate social environment into the Spiral of Silence Theory. Studies in Communication Sciences, 22(1), 31–42. https://doi.org/10.24434/j.scoms.2022.01.3060

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1: Studies in Communication Sciences

Section

DACH 21 Special Issue

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Christiane Eilders, Marius Gerads, Helmut Scherer, Jule Scheper

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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