IS SOCIAL MEDIA A SUITABLE PLATFORM OF POLITICAL EXPRESSION AND AWARENESS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN?

Abstract

Frequent use of social media has increased the access of youth to certain online platforms for expression, exchange, agreement, disagreement, and learning. Consulting key proposition of Dahl’s (1989) theory of ‘Democratic Processes’, the current study aims at observing to what extent the use of social media (Facebook and Twitter) improves the university students’ political expression that leads towards improvement in their political awareness in Pakistan. A survey research method is used for data collection from different universities in four provinces of Pakistan. The results of multiple regression analysis reveal that an increase in the use of Facebook and Twitter not only improves the political expression of students but also enhances their political awareness. Nevertheless, gender, discipline and province-based variations prevail. Keywords: Social Media, Facebook Use, Twitter Use, Political Expression, Political Awareness.