How Do Politicians Use Social Media?

Regardless of the form of government, the art and science of politics depends heavily on communication among and between political elites, the media, and citizens. Currently, all of this is mainly occurring through social media.

The emergence of social media has changed the way in which political communication takes place. Political institutions such as politicians, political parties, foundations, and institutions, are all using social media, mainly Facebook and Twitter, as a new way of communication and engagement. In elections, regular individuals, politicians, and leaders are able through social media to voice their opinions and connect with each other. The active participation of social media users has been an increasingly important element in political communication, especially during political elections.

Besides, Hong and Nadler (2011) estimate the impact of the use of Twitter by American politicians on changes in public opinion of those politicians over time and find evidence that the political use of Twitter has a positive and a negative impact on public opinion.

In conclusion, social media has reshaped structures and methods of contemporary political communication by influencing the way politicians interact with citizens and each other. However, the role of this phenomenon in increasing political engagement and electoral participation is neither clear nor simple (Wu & Huberman).

References:

Hong, S. & Nadler, D. (2011) Does the Early Bird Move the Polls? The use of the social media tool ‘Twitter’ by U.S. politicians and its impact on public opinion. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Government Research

Wu, F. &Huberman, B. (2004) Social structure and opinion formation. HP Labs Research Paper, Palo Alto