Open AccessSocial Media and Youth’s Political Activism: Emergence of a Networked Public Sphere in Pakistan
Author(s) -
Qasim Mahmood,
Kasim Sharif,
Zarmina Gull
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of peace, development and communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2663-7901
pISSN - 2663-7898
DOI - 10.36968/jpdc-v04-i02-04
Subject(s) - politics , public sphere , social media , political science , government (linguistics) , political communication , political activism , public relations , corporate governance , action (physics) , social movement , sociology , political economy , business , law , philosophy , linguistics , physics , finance , quantum mechanics
Social media has become a central component of modern society and politics around the world including Pakistan. The paper attempts to examine the influence of political activism among social media-savvy youth in highlighting the political issues of Pakistan. This paper examines how Pakistani youth’s political activism via social media gives rise to an emergent-networked public sphere. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 403-university students aged 18-29 to examine their social media use and political engagement. Findings of the survey show that public discourse on social media, driven by Pakistan’s networked youth, is a growing force that political players and pundits must reckon with. The paper concludes that politically active youth make use of social media to discuss political issues, highlight problems besetting the country, which generates a public discourse, put pressure on government and politicians to take action that ultimately bears influence upon politics and governance in Pakistan.