Citizens seek information from government, mass media, and family, friends and neighbors to understand the impending threats. People increasingly find information from government websites or private websites. What drives their choice of seeking risk information from online government channels? The risk communication literature implies that the credibility of sources is important for citizens’ channel choice, and the digital-divide literature suggests that socio-demographic characteristics are critical for using online information channels. This study investigates to what extent trust matters and digital divide exists in citizens’ choice of information channel to understand the impending risks. The study examines the effects of trust and socio-demographic characteristic on citizens’ choice of online government information channel as the primary risk communication channel using a national survey of South Koreans’ perception of the national and local response to natural disasters. A multinomial logistic regression shows that the perceive competence of emergency response and individuals’ age and education level influence the choice of online government channel as the primary channel.
Volume 11 | 07-Special Issue
Pages: 1279-1285