Impact of Social Media use on Voting Behavior of Youth during General Elections-2013

Abstract

Present study aims at exploring the impact of the political content of different social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and MySpace) on voting behavior of youth of Faisalabad. The impact is measured in terms of social media motivation, political participation of users and its influence on voting preferences of youth. The study is directed by three main objectives: (i) To explore the impact of social media on voting behavior of youth during General Elections (ii) To explore how social media users utilize SNS for political Purposes (iii) To explore which type of social media is more effective in influencing voting behavior of youth. A descriptive survey design has been used. This involved administering questionnaires as tools for data collection. Triangulation of Stratified and purposive sampling has been applied. After the division of the respondents into the strata’s of gender, age and education the researcher has collected data from the sample size of 320 respondents, 160 male & 160 female from government collage university, Faisalabad. The empirical findings of the study have revealed that majority of the youth of Faisalabad preferably using Facebook for political purpose than Twitter and MySpace. The results have also indicated that social media users acquire more political information on social media about PTI and PML(N) as compared to PPP and other political parties. According to another finding, social media  political content influenced the voting behaviour of youth to a certin level and social media has politically motivated the users to a significant level. The study has also indicated that social media is an effective tool for political mobilization.

Key words: Impact, Social Media, voting Behavior, Social Networking Sites, General Election