Determinants of Fear of Demographic Changes and the Tendency to Spread Viral News Among Millennials

Abstract

: Tendency of spreading viral news had become quite a problem in itself, as the information mostly was not authorized, and could trigger the fear of structural changes in the society. This study aimed to investigate whether political preference, religiosity, and group chat involvements affected the tendency to spread viral news, and ultimately led to fear of demographic changes. Quantitatively, 170 youths participated in this study and were analyzed in SEM-PLS. The study found that millennials' political preference affected their news dissemination; involvement in group chats also increased their news channeling. Interestingly, religious millennials feared the shift in demographics. Aside from that acceptance, other hypotheses were rejected. This contributed to the discussion of communication among millennials.