Abstract:

This study uses the issue of minimum wage to analyze how ideological identity and media usage interact in the process of opinion formation. We explore how our audience, college student in the state of Connecticut, feels about raising the minimum wage over $15, how urgently they think the government should address this issue, and how they weight possible positive or negative effects of this policy, such as the growth of illegal immigration, the stimulus of the region's economy or the increase of layoffs. The ideological identity of our participants, to what extent they identify as liberal or conservative, strongly correlates with their opinion about raising the minimum wage, as well as with the perception of the issue and the possible implications of the policy. Furthermore, the study looks into the media consumption habits of our audience with special focus on the penetration of social media. We establish a relationship between media usage, ideological inclination an the opinion on the topic at hand. The study shows a precipitous decline of the legacy media. Social media have become the almost exclusive channel used by our students to access information on national or international issues. The correlation analysis does not provide any conclusive connection between the types of media used to access information and their opinion or perception of the urgency of the issue. This fact supports the thesis that media do work as echo-chambers. Regardless of the type of channel, opinions seem to be pre-shaped by the ideological inclination of our participants.

Keywords:

Social Media, Media Usage, Minimum Wage, Echo-Chambers, Ideology.