From exposure to expansion: understanding the economic impact of online attention through media function theory

Amid the rise of the digital economy, online attention has emerged as a novel factor shaping urban development. Grounded in media function theory—particularly its surveillance function—this study conceptualizes online attention (OA) as an informational signal that influences urban economic behavior. A panel dataset covering 286 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2023 is employed, together with System GMM, quantile regression, mediation, and threshold models, to examine the effects of OA on urban economic performance. The empirical results indicate that OA exerts a significant and robust positive impact on GDP, with stronger effects observed in less developed cities. Firm location decision (FLD) serves as a mediating channel, while communication barriers and transportation connectivity act as contextual moderators conditioning the strength of this relationship. The findings provide empirical evidence and policy-oriented insights, extending the application of media function theory to the domain of urban economics.