Responses to social media interactions with experts and peers: the risks and benefits of nanotechnology in foods

Social media are nowadays one of the main sources on information. When looking for information or just surfing the Internet, consumers might end up at social media sites where they can find the opinions of others and where... [ view full abstract ]

Social media are nowadays one of the main sources on information. When looking for information or just surfing the Internet, consumers might end up at social media sites where they can find the opinions of others and where they can interact with them. Research has shown that the opinions of peers and experts can influence the individual’s attitudes and behaviour. This is the more so, in the case of new and emerging technologies.
This research, however, mainly focused on the effects of face-to-face interaction and non-interactive online forms of communication. This raised the important question to what extent the exchange of opinions during online chats with peers, experts and anonymous others influences consumers’ risk related perceptions, information seeking and processing behaviour, and food purchasing decisions.
An online experiment was conducted to examine the effect of social media interaction with respect to the use of nanoparticles in food produce on risk perception, taking notice of information, information seeking and information sharing. The study focused on the effects of a simulated chat with a particular interaction partner (expert vs similar other vs anonymous) and his viewpoint on the use of nanoparticles in food produce (positive vs negative vs uncertain). The perceived expertise of the interaction partner, the perceived similarity with the interaction partner and the individual’s initial attitude were also taking into account.
The study was carried out in the Netherlands on a representative of Dutch sample of internet users (n = 300). Participants were recruited through a research agency and randomly assigned to one of the nine conditions. Data analysis is currently underway. First analyses show that the initial attitude had a very strong effect: the more positive consumers were about the use of nanoparticles in food produce, the lower their risk perception, and the higher their intention to take notice of, search for and share information on this topic.
Results will be presented and the implication for risk communication theory and practice will be discussed.