Social Media and Political Participation: Are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Democratizing Our Political Systems? (original) (raw)
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ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
IJCIRAS, 2021
Today, Social media is one of the important and effective tools of mass communication. In the 21st century, the advanced communication technology has compacted every aspect of society. Today, we cannot imagine of the world without social media, especially in the field of politics. It plays a crucial role in the active political participation of the people. Free media has since long been recognized as a cornerstone of democracy and plays an important role in influencing political outcome during elections. Social media has rapidly grown as a forum for political activism in its different forms. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube provide new ways to 'stimulate citizens' engagement in political life where elections and electoral campaigns have crucial role. In previous years, traditional media played a significant role in creating awareness among people but over a period of time, social media became important marketing tool which not only made the people aware but also helped to attract them. Politicians are becoming more and more active on it. Personal communication via social media brings politicians and parties closer to their electorate. Through social networking sites, political parties and candidates become able to directly communicate with the public and interact with them. In turn, through social networking sites, voters are also provided a platform to share their opinions and to be heard. At the time of 2014 lok sabha election in India, citizens of the country utilized the social media in the best possible manner. The sharing of the communication related to the party manifestos, ongoing political speeches, exchange of videos related to political issues and mudslinging among the politicians may lead to serious discussions in social media. In the elections youth participation creates the awareness about the importance of voting in democracy through Electronic Media.
Social Media in Political Campaigning Around the World: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
The impact of social media in political campaigning around the world is undeniable. Latest statistics show that close to three fourth of U.S. adults use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, with social network use becoming almost ubiquitous among young adults, according to recent data from the Pew Research Center (2018). Globally, an estimated 2.62 billion people use social networks on a daily basis in 2018, with that number projected to reach 2.77 billion by 2019 (Statista, 2018). With their tremendous growth, social media have become an indispensable part of modern political campaigning, both in the United States and internationally. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit have changed how political campaigns are run; how politicians and the public access and share political information; and the way we learn about politics, form opinions and attitudes, and ultimately engage in or disengage from the political process. While social media have clearly affected our understanding of political communication and its effects on the public, it is difficult to see clear monolithic effects. A 2009 meta-analysis showed that Internet use in general had positive, although relatively small, effects on different aspects of political engagement (Boulianne, 2009). Similarly, a 2015 meta-analysis demonstrated only limited effects of digital media use on political participation, showing that only half of 170 reported effects from 36 selected studies were statistically significant (Boulianne, 2015). Yet another meta-analysis found generally positive effects of social media on three different dimensions of engagement, namely, social capital, civic engagement, and political participation, when surveying 116 relationships/effects reported in 22 different studies (Skoric, Zhu, Goh, & Pang, 2016). These comprehensive aggregate studies offer evidence that the effects of social media consumption and use are hardly uniform across different contexts and groups. For example, studies with random samples of youth are more likely to identify a significant effect, compared with general population samples (Boulianne, 2015). Also, studies that rely on panel data are twice less likely to find positive and statistically significant relationships between social media use and political participation (Boulianne, 2015). Studies have also noted that the relationship between Internet use and political engagement varies depending on type of use. For example, findings by Gil de Zuniga, Bachmann, Hsu, and Brundidge (2013) suggest that only expressive 770437J MQXXX10.
The Role of Social Media in Citizen's Political Participation
2019
Social media is becoming important tool for political participation and engagement. Interaction in social media has a strong influence on the propensity to participate in politics. In this research, we argue that IS is in the right position to improve understanding of social media influence in political communication and participation. In this study, the role of social media for political participation is discussed and the result shows that social media plays great role in terms of replacing traditional media, facilitating political engagement, strengthening strategic collaboration as well as the potential to influence governments decisions in relation with politics. We employed qualitative research methodology and concept analysis technique to transcribe interview that can help to identify and arrange the ideas and views of interviewees. Our study explored how citizens engaged in politics through social media. Thus, the media industry, political consultants, politicians, and citize...
ePart conference/Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series, 2014
Online campaigning has been on the agenda of Norwegian political parties since 2001. In 2007, there were some early attempts at online campaigning through social networking systems (SNS) during the municipal elections. 2009 was the first time SNS’ were used for campaigning on a national level by all the political parties represented in parliament. This study follows up an earlier study of the 2009 election by examining the communication genres being used by Norwegian political parties in the 2013 parliamentary election. The 2009 study concluded that a genre system for online campaigning was emerging in SNS’, and presented an overview of this system. This paper shows that the genre system is slowly moving towards an established system, and that while still not fully sorted out, previous issues, such as a lack of two-way communication, is being addressed by the parties. The study concludes that campaigning in SNS’ is slowly moving more and more towards the objectives of politics 2.0.
This paper aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the role and importance of e-participation in the political process. The internet has introduced new ways and forms of political communication and citizen participation in social and political life. In the era of digital democracy, the capabilities of citizens in terms of participating directly in politics have been enriched significantly. Accordingly, the internet and the technologies of Web 2.0 in particular have been invested with increased democratic expectations for the renewal of democratic institutions. However, academic research broaches the democratic potential of social media with reservation and highlights the loose connection between online and offline political participation. In this paper, we explore the variables and factors that influence online political participation, taking into consideration the new communicative codes introduced by social media. The analysis of the paper is based on a literature review performed on recent studies in the field, which reveal a plurality of variables and factors that should be analysed thoroughly and combined for the articulation of valid conclusions in relation to the features and the political characteristics associated with the new forms
Norwegian political parties have used the Internet for campaigning since 2001. In 2009 all the parties represented in parliament experimented with social media, and in 2013 social media had become an important and integrated part of the parliamentary election campaign. This paper is a continuation of studies conducted in 2009 and 2013 on the communication genres used by political parties and voters during the campaign. In 2009, a genre system for political communication was emerging. In 2013 the genre system was more established and professionalised. This paper presents findings from the latest election in 2017, where there was concerns that the polarizing effects of Brexit, right-wing populism and the Trump campaign would influence online political communication during the campaign. The findings indicate that polarization is indeed part of the picture, but mostly when we view social media in isolation. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for democracy and the public sphere.
Springer eBooks, 2010
In the Norwegian context, eParticipation in the form of online campaigning has been on the agenda since 2001. After Obama's successful presidential campaign in 2008, expectations about the use of SNS in the Norwegian parliamentary election were high. This study explores genres of participation in the early stages of the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election campaign. The main finding is that the political parties have seen the need for a presence in SNS', and that a genre repertoire for political communication through SNS is beginning to evolve. However, there is little agreement between citizens and politicians about how the different genres should be enacted. Further work with genres is presented as a possible solution to lessening this communication gap.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2022
In the Norwegian context, eParticipation in the form of online campaigning has been on the agenda since 2001. After Obama's successful presidential campaign in 2008, expectations about the use of SNS in the Norwegian parliamentary election were high. This study explores genres of participation in the early stages of the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election campaign. The main finding is that the political parties have seen the need for a presence in SNS', and that a genre repertoire for political communication through SNS is beginning to evolve. However, there is little agreement between citizens and politicians about how the different genres should be enacted. Further work with genres is presented as a possible solution to lessening this communication gap.