Youths’ Online Political Participation in Ethiopia; A Study of Students’ Facebook Usage in Some Selected Public Universities

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine youths’ online political participation in Ethiopia with a focus on students’ Facebook usage in six randomly selected universities. The research specifically aimed to study the extent of participation, the main online political activities, and factors that determine such involvements. For this purpose, the research utilized a quantitative method with survey design. The sample size was 400 and the samples were selected by using the simple random method. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Accordingly, the research found limited youth’s involvement in those activities that require more commitments and efforts while they found to be active in activities that require low efforts and commitments. Low political efficacy and fear of political measures were found to be the main factors that force youths to have limited involvement in activities that require more efforts and commitments.