Media Use and Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: A Cross-National Analysis of the Moderating Roles of Polarization and Press Freedom

The media can have an influential role in shaping citizens’ attitudes toward marginalized groups in society, such as homosexuals. Drawing from a cross-national survey sample from 43 countries ( N = 57,583), this study showed that traditional media use was related to negative attitudes toward homosexuals, while digital media use was positively related. The relationships were also contingent on levels of country-level societal political polarization and press freedom. Higher levels of polarization weaken the relationship between media use and attitudes toward homosexuals across media types. Under higher press freedom, traditional media are associated with higher justification of homosexuality and higher rejection of homosexual neighbors, while digital media use is associated with lower rejection of homosexual neighbors. These findings demonstrate that the relationship between media use and attitudes is to some extent contextual on a country’s political and media environment.