Social Media Use and Political Engagement in Korea: The Case of 20th General Election in 2016

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Youngdeuk Park ◽  
Jaemook Lee
Author(s):  
Joel Penney

Abstract This study used focus groups to explore emergent patterns of youth political social media practices in the Trump era. The participants (U.S. undergraduates aged 18 to 26) suggested that Trump’s election was a transformative moment in their lives and that they had shifted their approaches to political social media in response. Many articulated an increased sense of duty and responsibility to use social media to counter perceived problems—such as Trump’s ideological extremism and misinformation—online, suggesting the adaption of certain “dutiful citizenship” norms to an “actualizing” mode of political engagement that prioritizes digital self-expression. Simultaneously, Trump’s embrace of social media to communicate directly with publics also corresponds with youth “speaking back” as a more exploratory mode of engagement to define political identity. Together, the data highlight the ongoing development of hybrid youth citizenship styles in response to institutional shifts in tactical social media use and growing hyper-partisanship.


Author(s):  
Kinza Amjad ◽  
Muzammil Saeed ◽  
Farahat Ali ◽  
Muhammad Awais

Social media, in the new millennium, has become a very effective tool of communication, information, and propagation regarding all social, religious, and political discourses that further lead towards ideological divisions. In the contemporary democratic world, the role of social media for political opinion building is obvious which is done by opinion leaders through political information and debates. The purpose of this study is to explore the social media use and political polarization among social media users. The survey research method was used to examine social media use for political engagement and political polarization. Private university students were selected as participants (n=350). The result was found positive which means that social media use is responsible for political polarization. Moreover, social media use is also a significant predictor of political engagement. In addition to this, the results show that political engagement is a mediator between the relationship between social media use and political polarization. The practical implications of the study have been discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1&2) ◽  
pp. 52-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jope Tarai

Political campaigning on social media in Fiji was first witnessed in the 2014 national election. In the Fiji 2018 general election, social media political campaigning had evolved with greater complexity and a wider variety of implications. This research examines and highlights the use of social media by political parties and candidates in the 2018 national elections. This examination provides comparative social media discussions between the two elections; 2014 and 2018. The research uses digital ethnography as a methodology to examine and highlight social media use, by political parties and candidates in Fiji’s 2018 national elections. The research found that FijiFirst, as the ruling government, had significant advantage in Fiji’s social media landscape. However, opposition social media efforts and growing Facebook ‘reactions’ were beginning to challenge FijiFirst’s social media dominance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinzhi Zhang ◽  
Wan-Ying Lin

Do social media help individuals without organisational memberships to engage more in politics or do they only facilitate political participation for those already involved? We examine how social media use and organisational membership jointly affect participation. Comparative surveys in Hong Kong and Taipei reveal that information sharing and virtual political engagement on social media mobilised users to engage in collective political actions. The influence of social media on individual-based participation is conditional on organisational membership, as reflected by the number of organisations joined. Organisational membership moderates the relationship between social media use and political behaviours differently in Hong Kong and Taipei.


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