Social Media And Political Socialization : A study Of Pokhara-17

Abstract

In primitive stage of communication messages used to be delivered over long distances by the horse riders. Social media evolved into a sophisticated mode of communication over a long period of time. Humans had to undergo various trials to come up to this stage. Thus, social media was not developed over night. The robust increase in the use of social networking sites today has created a trail for politics to use social media strategy throughout the world. The emergency and propagation of social media has reshaped political education and socialization in Nepal. Since social media offers platform for political debates, cyber activism, political campaign, political mobilization, political awareness, political interaction and political socialization; it is considered as the primary resource for the information retrieval. The main objective of this research is to identify the various types of social media, to analyze the impact of social media in political socialization and suggest ways of improving the use of social media for political socialization. The study adopts quantitative research method following purposive and convenient sampling method. In order to identify political socialization of people, Ward No:17, Pokhara was taken as the sample study area and the information was collected through survey questionnaire from 160 respondents. Depending on the results from research methods conducted, it was found that social media has altered the approach of political communication and candidates and political parties are opting social media for new way of connecting with voters. The findings of the study suggest that online political activities strongly correlate to political awareness and offline political participation. It is recommended that, there is still room for the improvement on social media strategies to enhance better public participation, mobilization and socialization. The research is expected to be useful for the political leaders, political parties, political activists and general public to use social media efficiently and effectively.