Social Media and Its Impact on Youth in Politics
The internet enriches information
Internet technology enriches information on cyberspace. On cyberspace, you can find anything, all of the ‘anything’ is information. Writings, pictures, photos, videos, are information and has become the main commodity of the internet.
Long before we realized, online news was spearheaded by Bruce Parrello (PLATO News Report) at the University of Illinois in 1974 and the Embratel Network (Jornaldodia) in Brazil in early 1987. In the late 1990s, hundreds of US newspapers released their online versions. Twenty years later, online news is “killing” conventional newspapers and magazines. The world of online news is increasingly frenetic with the presence of personal and community blogs that appear to legitimately display any information.
Does the internet change political preferences?
The hubbub of information on the internet is reinforced by social media. Instead of searching on news websites, social media now directly present the news on our faces every day through shared links. Forbes states that 64.5% of the news is consumed through social media (Martin, 2018). In the same survey, it was found that 50% of internet users claimed to know the news first from social media before seeing the news site.
Information circulating on the internet is said to affect political constellation. Political campaigns are now more aggressively carried out through the internet. Social media accounts are opened to become the mouthpieces for the desired dissemination of information, both intentionally and individually uncoordinated. But researchers doubt the conclusion. Some research shows that information that is spread on the internet does not significantly change political preferences. One of them is as revealed by Brundidge and Rice in the book Routledge of Internet Politics (2010). The influence of information on the internet on politics is determined by several characters as follows.
News providers package what they mean
Many news media package information in such a way that it affects the reader. Starting from the selection of titles, exaggerated topics, to the point of view of the experts. News providers contribute to leading public opinion by certain prominent things. Although big news companies try to maintain the principle of neutrality of journalism, the influence of their owners does not necessarily disappear. In addition, the amount of small online media and personal blogs is far greater.
People consume what they like
The internet does provide information in various forms. News, opinions, discussions, chat on social media and even videos that are cut and edited in such a way as to sharpen the intention which is meant to be spread. At the beginning of social media rise, users might be surprised by the presence of booming information, but in the end, as the site and youtube channel grow, social media users choose what they like. They tend to consume information that is in line with their understanding and not the contrary.
Divide and inequality of internet access
Divide and inequality of internet access also determine the effect of information on the internet on people’s political views and actions. This information gap and inequality can be caused by infrastructure limitations and economic aspects. Infrastructure limitations are usually experienced in developing countries where internet networks are still limited.
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for information and communication technologies, by the end of 2018, it is estimated that 51% of the world’s population is connected to the internet. This means that there are around 3.8 billion people (49%) who have not been able to access the internet and most are in developing countries.
The ITU released that the smallest internet access data are in African countries (21.8% of the population) then in Arab states (43.7%) and Asia (43.9%) where there are many developing countries. In Indonesia alone, internet users have only reached 53.7%, including low among Asia Pacific countries. But in terms of numbers, Indonesia is the fifth largest internet user in the world, which is 143.3 million (Statista, 2019).
In addition to infrastructure conditions, economic aspects also determine access to the internet. Internet costs affect the opportunity to access, the length of time a user accesses and the type of information accessed. Internet prices cannot be used as a measure of internet accessibility because the economic capacity of the local population is the real measurement. According to CNN, residents in Chad, Congo and Central Africa “pay the most expensive” internet fees. The statistic shows that internet users in these countries are in the range of 5%.
Other aspects that influence the use of the internet are intellectual and technical abilities. Not everyone likes to read political and economic news and there are still groups of people who cannot or are accustomed to accessing the internet. The aspects mentioned above cause divide and inequality in internet usage (digital) in a country.
Digital divide and inequality di New Zealand
New Zealanders is one of the largest percentages of internet users in the world at 89% in 2018 (Statista). According to Social Media, 90% of New Zealand residents aged 18–39 use social media. The data does not mean that there is no digital divide and inequality. If you look in more detail, the spread of internet users in New Zealand is not evenly distributed (Digital Divide Map).
Infrastructure is no longer a problem. It is predicted that in 2025, 99% of New Zealand residents will be able to access the internet with a minimum speed of 50Mbps. Why do some people still not use the internet?
According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) of New Zealand and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) of New Zealand, there are four factors that make people inclusive in using the internet:
1. Motivation using the internet
2. Access to the internet
3. Basic ability to use the internet
4. Trust in online services
People who do not have those four factors above will be excluded from internet use. InternetNZ Chief Executive Jordan Carter said there are people who do not have access to the internet, some do not have the skills to use it and others because of they unable to afford it. The people who are unable to access the internet are not only older people but also children in school age.
According to InternetNZ, many children do not have computers or internet access in their homes. While older people who live in residential aged care tend to not be able to access the internet. According to a study conducted by Dr Wrapson of the AUT’s National Institute for Public Health and Mental Health Research, older people are very dependent on their families and friends to connect to the internet.
There is no definitive data on people who do not have internet access in New Zealand but from a study conducted by Prof. Miriam Lips from Victoria University of Wellington (2015) and overseas studies it can be concluded that the groups of people who are vulnerable to digital exclusion are:
• Families with children in low socio-economic communities
• People living in rural communities
• People with disabilities
• Migrants and refugees with English as a second language
• Māori & Pasifika Youth
• Offenders and ex-offenders
• Seniors
Youth and the challenges
Back to the data of Social Media version that 90% of New Zealand residents aged 18–39 use social media. In Indonesia, the numbers are also not much different. In 2018 internet users aged 15–39 were around 81.4%. Youth around the world are deeply engaged with social media. Why do youth like social media?
According to the ReachOut website, the reasons youth often use social media are:
• talking to friends
• joining in on group conversations
• learning about current events and staying up to date with online content
• meeting new people
• not having anything to do, or feeling bored
• feeling like they might miss out if they aren’t always up to date with social media.
According to Danah Boyd in her book ‘It’s Complicated’ (2014), youth have a tendency to want a place in public space. They want to express their expressions, want to be heard and participate in public life. Social media becomes a shortcut without having to spend a lot of time and energy to get out and meet people. On the internet, youth can even form their own networks and create their own public.
Youth who were born after 1980 are often called Digital Natives. The behaviour and preferences of youth born in the digital world are of concern because they are different from conventional society groups.
In a study released by Asis&t, digital natives live in information cycles that are very short-lived. Information quickly appeared and also quickly changed. They do not have time to reflect for long because the new information has come or the information that they intended to reflect has changed.
Digital natives are no longer mere information users but also information creators. The presence of blogs, YouTube and other social media is a means of displaying their creations. Because young people create information and information shapes them, young people are feared to have difficulty recognizing and reflecting on themselves.
The digital environment shapes young people into more demanding consumers of information. They demand information that is more interesting and more engaging. Otherwise, they will not consume it. At the same time, their literacy ability is a concern.
The information search patterns of digital native are also more multiple. In addition to existing sources on the internet, they also use their network groups as a source of information. When they do not get satisfactory information, they will search from other sources. The network group construct shared meaning as a result of their interactions.
Conclusion
The Internet provides a lot of information. Too much to consume and learn therefore users ultimately narrow the source of the information. For the current information is more obtained through social media, users arrange the occupants of their media social room as desired.
Internet users tend to consume information that they like to or which they are interested in. The understanding gained usually deepens what they have been known beforehand. Divide and inequality of internet access is also an additional factor of why information on the internet does not necessarily affect political understanding and action.
Youth as the biggest internet users become a crucial segment in today’s world. Not only as an economic market, but also a potential political market. The nature of youth as digital natives who demand fast and engaging information must be a special concern because the interactions on social media itself construct their own shared meaning.
__________
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_newspaper
https://www.itu.int/en/about/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.statista.com/topics/2431/internet-usage-in-indonesia/
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/22/africa/internet-affordability-africa/index.html
https://www.statista.com/statistics/680688/new-zealand-internet-penetration/
https://socialmedia.org.nz/category/new-zealand/
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/3228-digital-new-zealanders-the-pulse-of-our-nation-pdf
https://internetnz.nz/news/nz%E2%80%99s-digital-divide-now-display
https://internetnz.nz/blog/solving-digital-divides-together
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1903/S00262/digital-divide-still-exists-for-older-people.htm
https://inet.detik.com/telecommunication/d-4551389/pengguna-internet-indonesia-didominasi-milenial
https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/meet.1450440133
Martin, N. (2018, November 30). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolemartin1/2018/11/30/how-social-media-has-changed-how-we-consume-news/#65c4a6fd3c3c
Luxton, E. (2016) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/4-billion-people-still-don-t-have-internet-access-here-s-how-to-connect-them/
Boyd, D. (2014). It’s Complicated. London, UK: Yale University
Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics, edited by Andrew Chadwick, and Philip N. Howard, Routledge, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/lib/vuw/detail.action?docID=356393.
