Political empowerment among young voters: Social media, partisanship and the moderating role of political interest

 Rehan Tariq, University Sains Malysia (Malaysia)

 Fakhta Zeib, Government College University (Pakistan)

https://doi.org/10.3916/C74-2023-08

Keywords

Young voters, political empowerment, social media, partisanship, political interest, political expression

Abstract

Despite recent efforts to examine the political outcomes of social media use, little is known about the reinforcement of political empowerment and moderating effect of political interest. It is vital to understand the elements that influence the level of political empowerment. Therefore, this paper used a sample of Pakistani voters (n=410) aged 18-29 to offer insight into how social media use alongside other political behaviors, such as partisanship, political expression, and political interest, affect political empowerment. Social Identity Theory (SIT) and rational choice theory provided the theoretical underpinning for the variables of this study. The statistical analyses were performed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) to assess the effects of four variables i.e., social media use, political partisanship, political expression, and political interest, on political empowerment. This study made a significant contribution to the research literature by combining SIT and rational choice theory in one framework. This study also expands the literature on political interest by introducing political interest as a moderator between the inconsistent relationship of political expression and political empowerment. Our results demonstrated that partisanship and social media use positively influenced political expression among young voters. Moreover, political interest positively moderated the relationship between political expression and political empowerment.

References

Ahmad, A., Bhatti, M.I., & Yousaf, F.F. (2020). Whom to vote? Socio-psychological factors influencing voting behavior in Rural Punjab, Pakistan. Sir Syed Journal of Education & Social Research, 3(2), 9-15. https://doi.org/10.36902/sjesr-vol3-iss2-2020(9-15)

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Ali, F., Rasoolimanesh, S.M., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C.M., & Ryu, K. (2018). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in hospitality research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), 514-538. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2016-0568

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Ali, R., & Fatima, A. (2016). Social media, newspapers and political awareness of youth in Pakistan. Pakistan Library & Information Science Journal, 47(1), 30-41. https://bit.ly/3bkxuHY

Link Google Scholar

Ashraf, D., Ali, T., & Hosain, A. (2013). Youth development and education in Pakistan: Exploring the relationship. Sisyphus: Journal of Education, 1(2), 162-192. https://bit.ly/3cCT76I

Link Google Scholar

Barnhart, B. (2021). Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2021. Sprout Social. https://bit.ly/3S6i7DD

Link Google Scholar

Becker, A.B., & Copeland, L. (2016). Networked publics: How connective social media use facilitates political consumerism among LGBT Americans. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(1), 22-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2015.1131655

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Bimber, B., Cunill, M.C., Copeland, L., & Gibson, R. (2015). Digital media and political participation: The moderating role of political interest across acts and over time. Social Science Computer Review, 33(1), 21-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439314526559

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Blau, P.M. (1964). Justice in social exchange. Sociological Inquiry, 34(2), 193-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.1964.tb00583.x

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Bobbie, E. (2013). The practice of social research. Pearson Education Limited.

Link Google Scholar

Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current research. Information, Communication and Society, 18(5), 524-538. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1008542

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Chan, M. (2018). Partisan strength and social media use among voters during the 2016 Hong Kong legislative council election: Examining the roles of ambivalence and disagreement. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(2), 343-362. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699017750857

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Chen, Z., & Chan, M. (2017). Motivations for social media use and impact on political participation in China: A cognitive and communication mediation approach. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(2), 83-90. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0174

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Colás-Bravo, P., González-Ramírez, T., & de-Pablos-Pons, J. (2013). Young people and social networks: Motivations and preferred uses. [Juventud y redes sociales: Motivaciones y usos preferentes]. Comunicar, 40, 15-23. https://doi.org/10.3916/C40-2013-02-01

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Dancey, L., & Goren, P. (2010). Party identification, issue attitudes, and the dynamics of political debate. American Journal of Political Science, 54(3), 686-699. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2010.00454.x

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Foos, F., & de-Rooij, E.A. (2017). The role of partisan cues in voter mobilization campaigns: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. Electoral Studies, 45, 63-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2016.11.010

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Gil-de-Zúñiga, H., Copeland, L., & Bimber, B. (2014). Political consumerism: Civic engagement and the social media connection. New Media and Society, 16(3), 488-506. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813487960

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Gil-de-Zúñiga, H., Molyneux, L., & Zheng, P. (2014). Social media, political expression, and political participation: Panel analysis of lagged and concurrent relationships. Journal of Communication, 64(4), 612-634. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12103

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Gold, A.H., Malhotra, A., & Segars, A.H. (2001). Knowledge management: An organizational capabilities perspective. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 185-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2001.11045669

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Großer, J., & Schram, A. (2006). Neighborhood information exchange and voter participation: An experimental study. American Political Science Review, 100(2), 235-248. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055406062137

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Hair, J.F., Hault, G.T.M., Ringle, C.M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). SAGE Publications Inc. https://bit.ly/3Saj4Lc

Link Google Scholar

Hair, J.F., Ringle, C.M., Gudergan, S.P., Fischer, A., Nitzl, C., & Menictas, C. (2019). Partial least squares structural equation modeling-based discrete choice modeling: An illustration in modeling retailer choice. Business Research, 12(1), 115-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-018-0072-4

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Harrop, M., & Miller, W.L. (1987). Elections and voters: A comparative introduction. Meredith Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18912-0

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Hassan, T., & Sabir, M. (2020). Civil society-democracy nexus in Pakistan. South Asian Studies, 26(2), 325-347. https://bit.ly/3bfRXhg

Link Google Scholar

Henseler, J., Ringle, C.M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Himelboim, I., Lariscy, R.W., Tinkham, S.F., & Sweetser, K.D. (2012). Social media and online political communication: The role of interpersonal informational trust and openness. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56(1), 92-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2011.648682

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Homans, G.C. (1958). Social behavior as exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 63(6), 597-606. https://doi.org/10.1086/222355

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Huddy, L., Mason, L., & Aaroe, L. (2010). Measuring partisanship as a social identity, predicting political activism. In Annual Meeting of the International Society for Political Psychology (pp. 1-33). ISPP. https://bit.ly/3PN71Sv

Link Google Scholar

Kalogeropoulos, A., Negredo, S., & Picone, I. (2017). Who shares and comments on news?: A cross-national comparative analysis of online and social media participation. Social Media + Society 3(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117735754

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Kim, M. (2018). How does Facebook news use lead to actions in South Korea? The role of Facebook discussion network heterogeneity, political interest, and conflict avoidance in predicting political participation. Telematics and Informatics, 35(5), 1373-1381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.03.007

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Krejcie, R.V., & Morgan, D.W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607-610. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316447003000308

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Loader, B.D., Vromen, A., & Xenos, M.A. (2014). The networked young citizen: social media, political participation and civic engagement. Information, Communication and Society, 17(2), 143-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.871571

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Maurissen, L. (2020). Political efficacy and interest as mediators of expected political participation among Belgian adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 24(4), 339-353. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1507744

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Moffett, K.W., & Rice, L.L. (2018). College Students and online political expression during the 2016 election. Social Science Computer Review, 36(4), 422-439. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439317721186

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Morrell, M.E. (2005). Deliberation, democratic decision-making and internal political efficacy. Political Behavior, 27, 49-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-005-3076-7

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (Ed.) (2021). Demographic and research. https://bit.ly/3viHvwj

Link Google Scholar

Prior, M. (2019). Hooked: How politics captures people’s interest. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108355001

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Ramayah, T., Cheah, J., Chuah, F., Ting, H., & Memon, M.A. (2018). Partial Least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) Using SmartPLS 3.0 (2nd (ed.). Pearson.

Link Google Scholar

Rasoolimanesh, S.M., Khoo-Lattimore, C., Md-Noor, S., Jaafar, M., & Konar, R. (2021). Tourist engagement and loyalty: Gender matters? Current Issues in Tourism, 24(6), 871-885. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1765321

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Riaz, S. (2007). Government advertisements — Influence on print media content: A content analysis of the leading newspapers of Pakistan. Asian Journal of Social Science, 35(2), 154-178. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853107X203414

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Sarstedt, M., Hair, J.F., Cheah, J.H., Becker, J.M., & Ringle, C.M. (2019). How to specify, estimate, and validate higher-order constructs in PLS-SEM. Australasian Marketing Journal, 27(3), 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ausmj.2019.05.003

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Shively, W.P. (1979). The relationship between age and party identification: A cohort analysis. Political Methodology, 6(4), 437-446. https://bit.ly/3oIJRAO

Link Google Scholar

Skoric, M.M., Zhu, Q., Goh, D., & Pang, N. (2016). Social media and citizen engagement: A meta-analytic review. New Media and Society, 18(9), 1817-1839. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815616221

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Spreitzer, G.M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465. https://doi.org/10.5465/256865

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Tajfel, H. (1974). Social identity and intergroup behaviour. Information (International Social Science Council), 13(2), 65-93. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901847401300204

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Tariq, R., Zolkepli, I.A., & Ahmad, M. (2022). Political participation of young voters: Tracing direct and indirect effects of social media and political orientations. Social Sciences, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11020081

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Teo, T.S.H., Srivastava, S.C., & Jiang, L. (2008). Trust and electronic government success: an empirical study. Journal of Management Information Systems, 25(3), 99-132. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222250303

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

United Nations Development Pakistan (Ed.) (2018). National Human Development Report 2017: Unleashing the potential of a young Pakistan. UNESCO. https://bit.ly/3zNiDiI

Link Google Scholar

Van-Dop, N., Depauw, J., & Driessens, K. (2016). Measuring empowerment: Development and validation of the service user psychological empowerment scale. Journal of Social Service Research, 42(5), 651-664. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2016.1216915

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

World Bank (Ed.) (2021). World development indicators. DataBank. https://bit.ly/3BmsXQ7

Link Google Scholar

Zeib, F. (2022). Rising wave of social media: Empowering university students through online and offline political participation. Webology, 19(2), 4540-4558. https://bit.ly/3BmzL07

Link Google Scholar

Zolkepli, I.A., Kamarulzaman, Y., & Kitchen, P.J. (2018). Uncovering Psychological gratifications affecting social media utilization: A multiblock hierarchical analysis. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 26(4), 412-430. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2018.1489730

Link DOI | Link Google Scholar

Zulqarnain, W., & Taimur-ul-Hassan (2017). Social and traditional media usage: A demographic analysis of Pakistani youth. Global Media Journal: Pakistan Edition, 10(1), 30-56. https://bit.ly/3OGLcCP

Link Google Scholar

Fundref

This work has no financial support

Crossmark

Technical information

Received: 10-03-2022

Revised: 26-04-2022

Accepted: 15-07-2022

OnlineFirst: 30-10-2022

Publication date: 01-01-2023

Article revision time: 47 days | Average time revision issue 74: 40 days

Article acceptance time: 127 days | Average time of acceptance issue 74: 69 days

Preprint editing time: 252 days | Average editing time preprint issue 74: 194 days

Article editing time: 297 days | Average editing time issue 74: 239 days

Metrics

Metrics of this article

Views: 37135

Abstract readings: 35637

PDF downloads: 1498

Full metrics of Comunicar 74

Views: 448105

Abstract readings: 413256

PDF downloads: 34849

Cited by