Third-Person Effect in Internet Use: Comparison to Television Viewing

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the Third Person Effect (TPE) on the influence of Internet use, including comparison to the influence of television (TV) viewing. A web survey was conducted among individuals ranging in age from their late teens to their sixties. The questionnaire included estimates about the extent to which the use of both media influenced the participants themselves, or junior high school and elementary school students with regard to various viewpoints. Factor analysis of media influence separated the effects into four factors. Participants estimated that Internet use was more influential for junior high school students than for themselves (Third Person Perception, TPP), and the TPP of the influence of Internet use was stronger than for that of TV viewing in three out of four influence factors. However, TPP was not involved in positive attitudes to regulate the contents of Internet and TV. These results suggest that TPP of Internet use certainly existed; however, how TPP is associated with regulation and censorship toward Internet requires further examination.