Causal Relationships among Media Exposure, Attitudes and Decision-Making Behavior in the Selection to Watch News Programs via Online Social Media of Elderly Consumers

Abstract

This research aims (1) to examine the model fit of the causal relationships among media exposure, attitude, and decision-making behavior in the selection to watch news programs via online social media of elderly consumers, and (2) to study the influence of media exposure, attitude, and decision-making behavior in in the selection to watch news programs via online social media of elderly consumers. The sample consisted of 440 elderly individuals who watched news programs through online channels, selected using accidental sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicated that the hypothesized model was suitable and demonstrated a good fit with the empirical data, with χ2/df = 2.981, CFI = 0.936, TLI = 0.916, RMSEA = 0.067, and SRMR = 0.061. Furthermore, the findings revealed that media exposure had a positive influence on attitude (H1); media exposure had a positive influence on the decision-making behavior in selecting news programs via social media among elderly consumers (H2); and attitude had a positive influence on the decision-making behavior in selecting news programs via social media among elderly consumers (H3).