Influence of Social Media on Political Engagement among Pakistani Young Adults

Abstract

Social media has turned out to be a revolutionary medium of political communication that allows dissemination of information quickly and leads to involvement of the citizens and especially the young adults. In Pakistan, where the traditional media and political institutions are usually accused of lacking credibility, the social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have taken center stage in political discussion. This paper explores how social media affects the political participation of Pakistani young adults and explores the connection between the patterns of social media use, political awareness, political discussions participation, and online activism. Based on the empirical studies and theoretical literature, the paper identifies opportunities and challenges of social media to influence the political behaviors. The results show that social media improves the knowledge of politics and participates, but it also subjects young people to misinformation, echo chambers, and polarized stories. The paper highlights that digital literacy programs, regulatory frameworks and civic education are essential in order to ensure the social media have the greatest positive effect on political participation.