Antecedents and consequences of online campaign engagement of greek college students

Abstract

This study measured college students' engagement with official online campaign tools of political parties and politicians during the pre-election period in Greek Parliamentary elections in May 2012. Furthermore, the antecedents and consequences of voters' online campaign engagement were examined. Findings indicate that Greek college students are not digitally mature in using various online platforms for political information and engagement. The engagement with official campaign tools is affected by the interest of young voters in politics as well as their level of political cynicism. Based on the findings, only Facebook interaction of Greek college students with the profile of political party/politicians can influence their voting intentions. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.