With youth playing a major role in
the coming Lok Sabha elections, a study says Facebook could influence
the results, and could be the new vote bank for the Indian politicians.
have often been questioned. While critics have played down
the impact of social media saying it's only limited to few people,
supporters believe social networking websites is rapidly evolving as a
serious platform to express views as well spread the word.
Well, a new study conducted by a
independent IRIS Knowledge Foundation and supported by the Internet and
Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) says Facebook
could have a huge influence on the results of the 2014 Lok Sabha
Elections. The study explains its observations through multiple factors.
First up, the study says, India never
had such a huge base of young electorate. “Between 2004 and 2009, the
voting population went up from 670 million to 720 million. The number is
expected to increase to 800 million by the time the country goes to the
polls, a greater number of voters than ever before will be 25 years or
younger,” points out the study.
The recent extensive usages of social
networking platforms to spread word and express dissatisfaction against
the government also indicates a number of people are now using new
platforms to stage protests. This was seen during Anna Hazare's Lokpal campaign as well as during the protests against Delhi gangrape.
“Citizen activism is higher than ever
before and the young in India are certainly showing a fair amount of
restlessness and unhappiness at the state of affairs. It is unlikely
that the voice that the citizenry found would stay suppressed for long
and it would be interesting to see if it finds expression through their
vote at the hustings. It is significant to note that online media
generally and social media in general have played a huge role in
mobilizing people for protests”.
The study further goes on to say no
contestant can afford to ignore the power of social media in the coming
Lok Sabha polls. And we are likely to see the political parties
increasing their budget for social media campaigns and activities. With
growing urbanisation in the country, especially small towns showing
fairly active social media usages, the political parties may make
various efforts to tap these new channels. You can check out the list of
constituencies where social media could influence results here.
Though the study only focusses on facebook, it certainly lays out the changing trends in the country, especially in the metros and smaller towns.
With growing reach of electronic media, the political campaigns in recent years have shifted to TV and radios.
The influence of the social media is
quite evident in the contemporary social backdrops. As said before, the
power of the social media cannot be overlooked, and we shouldn't be
surprised to see more campaigns and activities happening online in the
near future.
What do you think of the notion that
social media could affect the 2014 Election results? Let us know your
views in the comments section below:
Source : ThinkDigit
No comments:
Post a Comment
Enter your Comment...