Abstract

This paper investigates the link between Facebook use and political participation among Malawian youths. The youths are taking advantage of Social Network Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, which are enabled by the second generation of the web (web 2.0), which allows Internet users to collaborate and share information online. SNSs are dialogical, akin to online “word of mouth”, which has proved an attractive site for socialisation among the youths. These youths are also using Facebook as means for political participation, discussion and information seeking. Thus, it is not surprising that during the 2019/ 2020 electioneering in Malawi all the major political parties and candidates had a presence on popular social media platforms, as they sought to reach out to the youthful voters. The study deployed the theory of political socialisation, which describes the process by which citizens form political identities, values, and behaviour. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, this paper conducted quantitative research among 384 Malawian youths and a qualitative interview with 20 University of Malawi (Chancellor College) students to investigate the relationship between Facebook use and political participation. The findings show a direct and positive relationship between Facebook usage and political participation among the youths. The study also established that Facebook usage increases political knowledge and has significant and positive effect on the youths’ overall political attitude and knowledge.

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School	: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issued Date	: 2022

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