INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PEOPLE’S POLITICAL VIEWS DURING

NATIONAL ELECTIONS

CHAPTER I

Introduction

Over the last decade, a large body of research has been published on the

implications of social media on real-life political participation. Many people believe that

social media encourages people to participate in politics both online and offline.

Questions arise alongside different dilemmas whether the social media influences

people’s political views or not, especially during national elections.

Social media have come a long way for paving the path on an easier way of

disseminating different information from time to time. With the rise of social media on

different scenes such as communication, occupation and now social media stands out

to be another platform for advertisement. Alongside with this, the fact that social media

holds a very large number of users its influence is an absolute big of a deal. In one

single click or one single article or poster, it will spread all throughout the web in an

instant. That is how powerful social media is. In the present days, social media plays a

vital role on spreading different types of information. In connection to that, political

analysts, political advisors and handlers also utilizes the power of social media and use

it into their advantage. The prominent question in this subject matter revolves around

social media’s advantages and disadvantages, the extent of its possible influence, and

the way it will shape and control people’s perception towards elections.
 As eloquently stated by (Golan, Arceneaux and Soule, 2019), information and

communication technologies (ICT) revolutionized the world more than a decade ago.

New media and technology, for example, have altered interpersonal interactions,

communication patterns, and social and political debates. Hundreds of research on

various elements of social media usage have been undertaken by media and

communication experts, political scientists, sociologists, and international relations

scholars. People nowadays relies on social media in terms of their judgment in different

issues, situations and events in the present. Just like in the elections, some voters

depend their vote on those electoral candidates who is chosen by some major groups in

social media, some of them oppose those decision as well. The fact that social media

have molded the people’s point of view and was able to manipulate, control and

influence people in their general perspective towards major events is relatively alarming.

Given this, the use and exposure to social media could be associated to people’s

political view during national elections. People tend to believe what the social media

says. With a wide variety of potential sources and references, there are lots of

information being given and unfortunately, some of them are not reliable and authentic.

With the power of social media, those advertised information are passed from one

person to another until the information has accumulated a lot of insights.

As mentioned by (Ghonim, 2016), many experts believe that the Internet in

general, and social media in particular, play a crucial role in magnifying economic,

political, and cultural concerns around the world, and that they have their own

independent influence on politics in both established democracies and autocratic

regimes. The apparent importance of social media in organizing protests and providing
a voice for the opposition in autocratic governments has raised expectations for the

Internet and social media as "liberation technology."

(Diermeier, 2017) stated that low entry barriers and reliance on user-generated

content are the two most prominent characteristics of the new social media. Low

entrance barriers make the gatekeeping of political information far less effective,

allowing new recruits who were previously shut out by the political elite to participate.

Because internet fact-checking standards are loose, low entry barriers, and the

extraordinary speed with which users may distribute content on social media,

misinformation and fake news could proliferate, leading to an increase in political

misperceptions. Fake news, which inspires fear or fury, may spread quicker than actual

news, which is frequently less emotionally charged, since first reactions are often based

on emotions rather than reason. The ease with which emotional information is spread

online may also contribute to fact-(reason-based) checking's ineffectiveness poor

combating false news (based on emotions).

There is ample evidence that traditional media (newspapers, radio, and

television) have had a significant impact on political outcomes by delivering political

news and entertainment, both before and after they were widely available. However, the

drastic rise and extensive use of social media has evolved and ultimately shape up how

people decide whose electoral candidate will get their vote. Furthermore, social media

enhance coordination between people by facilitating horizontal flows of information

through two-way contact between users, potentially making it easier to plan collective

actions, most importantly, the voter’s perception about election.

social media to people’s political views amidst the approaching Philippine national

elections. To examine these factors, it is essential to identify their social media

engagement as well as the different types of resources, materials, and information that

they usually encounter on various social media sites. More importantly, the study will

assess the impacts of social media to the voters’ political views in line with their

knowledge, awareness, and decision-making in order to propose effective methods from

the outcomes of the study.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of social media on

people’s political outlooks amidst national elections. It is also from the findings of this

research that the proponents would generate diverse viewpoints with regards to the

subject matter.

Specifically, this study will seek answers to the following questions:

1. What are the most common social media platforms utilized by the voters?

2. What are the different types of resources, materials, and information that voters

usually encounter when using various social media sites?

3. How do these types of resources, materials, and information affect the voters’

political views in terms of their:

a. knowledge;

b. awareness; and

c. decision-making?
 4. What are the potential schemes and methods to effectively perceive the influence

of social media on people’s political views?

Significance of the Study

The study will revolve around the influence of social media on people’s political

views during national elections. This assessment will generally be beneficial in providing

valuable information about the role of social media in shaping voters’ political

standpoints in line with the upcoming national elections. Specifically, if the study will be

proven positive, it would be significant to the following:

To the voters, the study will be particularly substantial to voters since the

outcomes of this research could provide useful perspectives and methods on how they

can effectively utilize different social media platofrms in broadening their knowledge,

awareness, and understanding in the field of politics as well as on how they can

distinguish authentic and legitimate information that they see online.

To the youth, the study will be beneficial to the youth in a sense that they could

monitor and observe their use of social media and how it generally affects their views

and preferences. This will allow them to facilitate a positive and critical approach

towards what they perceive on social media.

To the general public, the study will certainly be advantageous to the general

public because they can use the results of this research to analytically assess the

authenticity and credibility of the resources they see online. This is a vital factor that

could influence their choices and decisions, especially on the basis of the upcoming

national elections.
 To the future researchers, the outcomes of this study could be a vital source of

data and information which could serve as a frame of reference to other researchers in

pursuit of knowledge regarding the influence of of social media on people’s political

perceptions amidst approaching national elections.

Scope and Delimitation

The study is aimed to distinguish the effect of social media towards the political

views of voters during national elections. With the imminent general elections in the

Philippines, people engage with different social media platforms in order to be informed

with current news and information about elections and political aspirants. Recent

studies suggest that these media outlets could greatly influence voters’ political views

and preferences due to several factors. In line with this, the researchers will gather data

from 40 registered voters for the 2022 national elections, prioritizing the first-time ones.

The study will cover the assessment of their social media engagement as well as the

influence of social media to their political views with reference to their political

knowledge, awareness, and decision-making.

On the other hand, the study will employ the quantitative type of research

wherein the proponents would utilize quantitative methods to assess and interpret the

feedback from the respondents. Specifically, the researchers will make use of a survey

questionnaire which will be administered online through Google Forms.

The study, however, is subjected to limitations. Since the proponents will not be

able to conduct extensive gathering procedures due to safety protocol measures, the

researchers delved into the limited feasible means of reliable and credible sources
including previous studies, textbooks, and online articles which are related to the current

study. . The study is also subject to selection bias in which participants with no internet

access and those who had been severely affected by the pandemic may not be able to

answer the survey. As mentioned, safety protocols had already been in place during the

study period, preventing the distribution of questionnaires in person. Furthermore, the

study is delimited to newly registered voters since they are the ones who will cast their

votes for the first time and therefore, the ones who require different perspectives about

politics.

References

Diermeier, 2017. Reputation Rules: Strategies for Building Your Company's Most
Valuable Asset. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ghonim, W., 2016. Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People Is Greater than the People
in Power: A Memoir.. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Volume 2.
Golan, Arceneaux, & Soule, 2019. The Use of Social Media on Political Participation
Among University Students: An Analysis of Survey Results From Rural Pakistan.
Sage Journals.