現代信息技術，以其多元、快速的優勢使人們對中國的民主抱以樂觀的態度。公民參與是一個健康的民主制度的核心要素，如何促進公民的政治參與一直是政治參與研究領域的焦點問題。在互聯網時代，尤其是社交媒體的出現，其廉價、方便、互動性的技術優勢大大增加了政治參與的可行性。大學學生是“互聯網一代“和中國知識分子的代表。因此，了解他們的社會媒體使用行為如何影響其政治知識、政治感知和政治行為、對於認識未來中國的政治變革是重要的。本研究提出“社交媒體使用“及“在線新聞使用“兩個概念，並以此視作政治參與和民主實踐研究範疇下的新討論焦點。 / 本研究主要探討以下問題：（1）大學生通過何種渠道在線獲取新聞;（2）大學生使用不同的媒體平台獲取新聞的情況如何；（3）在線新聞使用同傳統新聞媒體使用之間的關係如何;（4）計算機能力，互聯網自我效能感，在線和離線新聞使用，社交媒體使用，政治知識，政治效能，政治信任和政治參與等核心變量之間的關係； 以及（5）計算機能力，互聯網自我效能感，在線和離線新聞使用，社交媒體使用之於政治知識、政治感知和政治參與的相對重要性。 / 本研究採用定量的研究方法。研究的主體是對中國大陸在校大學本科及研究生進行問卷調查；調查前，焦點小組輔助研究結構建立與問卷設計。問卷調查採用多階層整群抽樣的方法，在北京抽取了兩所“elite工程“大學，在長春及杭州各抽取一所非“elite工程“大學的學生參與，樣本數量為624人。研究結果顯示，當中97.4% 的受訪者均使用互聯網獲取新聞。因子分析結果顯示，中國內地大學生主要經由三種信息渠道在線獲取新聞，分別是海外新聞渠道、社交媒體渠道，以及官方新聞渠道。不同信息渠道的使用者其政治常識、政治效能和政治信任亦有所區別。同時，本研究還發現傳統新聞同網絡新聞的使用之間存在互補的關係。 / 研究結果顯示，人口學變量超越社交媒體和在線新聞使用兩個變量對中國內地大學生的政治認知及政治知識的形成發揮最重要的作用。研究還發現社交媒體和在線新聞在促進線上和線下政治參與方面具有很大潛力。結論部分將詳述本研究的貢獻與實踐意義。 / Citizen participation is a core element of a healthy democracy, and what facilitates citizens’ political activities has long been a central interest in political participation research. In the age of the Internet, especially with the appearance of social media, political participation is greatly facilitated by technology that makes information inexpensive, accessible, and interactive. Modern information technology, with its pluralism and fast speed, has made people optimistic about democracy. University students represent the Net generation and intellectuals in China; therefore, understanding how their social media use affects political knowledge, perception, and participation is valuable, to bring political change to China in the future. / Expanding the line of previous research, this study aims to address the question of the democratic implications of social media use and online news seeking from the vantage point of how individuals seek news online and how such use may be related to several key indications of individuals’ engagement in political life as citizens. Specifically, this study examines (a) the sources through which university students seek news online; (b) to what degree university students in China use different media platforms to seek news; (c) how online news seeking is related to its offline counterpart; (d) the relationships among computer competence, Internet efficacy, online and offline news seeking, social media use, political knowledge, political efficacy, political trust, and political participation; and (e) the relative influence of technological attributes, social media use, and online and offline news seeking on political attributes and political participation. / In this study, we used quantitative questionnaire surveys among university students. The questionnaire surveys were based on a stratified cluster sampling of two elite universities in Beijing and two ordinary universities in Changchun and Hangzhou. The final sample consisted of 624 university students, of whom 97.2% had used online news. Factor analysis identified three major sources of online news seeking among university students: official sources, overseas sources, and social media sources. Adopting these sources seems to affect students’ political knowledge, perception, and participation differently. Also, the supplement effect was found between online and offline news seeking. / Results also showed that demographics, rather than social media use and online news seeking, have the most power to predict political perception and knowledge among Chinese university students, and online news seeking and social media use have great potential in facilitating political engagement online and offline. How the social media use and online news seeking change the mode of state-society interactions and expands forms of political engagement are also discussed. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Zheng, Pei. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references. / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iii / 致謝 --- p.iv / List of Tables and Figures --- p.4 / Chapter Chapter 1 --- : Introduction --- p.1 / Research Methods --- p.9 / Main Contents of Each Chapter --- p.10 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- : Literature Review --- p.12 / Internet as a Public Sphere --- p.13 / Technology between State and Society --- p.15 / History of Technology Empowerment Since Modern China --- p.15 / Political Control over the Internet --- p.16 / Internet Empowerment of Society --- p.20 / Political Participation --- p.23 / Offline Political Participation --- p.24 / Online Political Participation --- p.25 / Social Media Use, and Offline and Online News Seeking --- p.27 / Social Media Use and Political Participation --- p.27 / Online News Seeking --- p.29 / Offline News Seeking vs. Online News Seeking --- p.32 / Computer Competence and Internet Efficacy --- p.33 / Computer Competence --- p.33 / Internet Efficacy --- p.35 / Political Knowledge --- p.37 / Political Efficacy --- p.38 / Political Trust --- p.42 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- : Research Methods --- p.57 / Questionnaire Survey --- p.57 / Sampling procedure and survey participants --- p.57 / Final sample profiles --- p.62 / Pilot tests --- p.64 / Measures --- p.64 / Internet efficacy. --- p.64 / Computer competence. --- p.65 / Social media use. --- p.65 / Online news seeking. --- p.66 / Offline news seeking. --- p.67 / Political efficacy. --- p.68 / Political knowledge. --- p.69 / Political trust. --- p.70 / Political participation. --- p.70 / Demographics. --- p.71 / Analytical Procedure --- p.72 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- : News Seeking Behaviors --- p.73 / Online News Seeking --- p.73 / News Consumption Online vs. Offline --- p.76 / Relationship Between Online and Offline News Seeking --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- : Assessing Factors Influencing Political Participation --- p.79 / Linking Social Media Use and Online News Seeking to Political Attributes. --- p.79 / Linking Computer Competence, and Internet Efficacy to Social Media Use 1.1 and Online News Seeking --- p.84 / Computer competence --- p.84 / Internet efficacy --- p.85 / Linking Online News Seeking, Political Knowledge, Political Efficacy, 1.1 Political Trust and Political Participation --- p.87 / Political knowledge --- p.87 / Political efficacy --- p.88 / Political trust --- p.89 / Research questions --- p.90 / Predicting Political Knowledge, Efficacy and Trust --- p.91 / Predicting Political Participation --- p.97 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- : Discussion and Conclusion --- p.102 / Contributions of This Study --- p.102 / Complementary effect of offline and online news --- p.102 / Three sources of online news seeking --- p.104 / Potential of social media use and online news seeking to promote 1.1.1 online political participation --- p.107 / Political attributes: Demographic determined. --- p.108 / Offline political participation: After the Internet, before democracy --- p.110 / Limitation and Suggestions for Future Research --- p.114 / Reference --- p.117 / Glossary --- p.135