Spiral of Silence and Social Media Platforms: Investigating The Role of Religiosity

Abstract

This study postulates a deep inquiry into the spiral of silence that ensues in current communication, exclusively in the sphere of social media platforms. The spiral of silence theory has the idea that if people have a firm belief that their opinions belong to a minority version, they will try to remain silent or be less likely to speak out due to the fear of social isolation. Social media platforms provide an important place for the public sphere by giving unique features to keep anonymity. It is a cross-sectional study in which a 384-sample size has been taken. The study tried to explore the moderating role of religiosity in the spiral of silence model. The mediation analysis revealed that willingness to self-censor mediated the relationship between fear of social isolation and withdrawal behaviors. The moderation analysis demonstrated that the level of religiosity moderated the relationship between fear of social isolation and withdrawal behaviors Those who are more religious less likely to withdrawal behavior.