SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICS

Introduction

Social media is a reflection of real-life and is all about having discussions. By allowing users to engage in, comment on, and produce content as a method of connecting with their social graph, other users, and the general public, social media facilitates the dynamic web. Social media has evolved as a crucial instrument for individuals to discuss concerns of daily life as well as matters of national importance. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not only internet developments in the twenty-first century, but they are also rapidly developing as influencers and opinion producers. A platform for creating social networks is a social networking service. These web-based social network services allow users to engage with one another through the Internet. As a result, social media is a two-way street that not only provides you with the material but also interacts with you while providing that information and allows you to communicate with other users. This engagement can take the form of soliciting your feedback, allowing you to vote on an item, or recommending movies to you based on the ratings of others who share your interests. Like ripples in a pond, social media allows information and views to spread across networks, amplifying concepts and enabling everyone to engage as an opinion leader through media production and dissemination, rather than simply passive consumption. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, pictures, posts, activities, events, and interests with people in their network.

Social media and elections

Elections are heavily influenced by social media. Social media frequently combines with other forms of mass media, such as cable television. For many people, cable television is the starting point and initial point of contact for information and sources. Discussion on cable television also fosters polarisation and feeds into people's predispositions toward specific political parties. Social media amplifies and supports the words of the mainstream media, perpetuating ideological differences in the process. When a candidate in an election makes a mistake or achieves great success, users on social media will greatly magnify the effect of that failure or success. In terms of the impact of social media on the youth vote, it is significant. Youth use of social media continues to rise, with around 90% of young people using at least one social media site. In contrast to receiving a message from the candidate's campaign, messages shared on the social media site frequently include messages encouraging people to register to vote and vote.

2019 elections

Political parties, politicians, and supporters utilised social media extensively for political campaigning and communication during the 2019 Indian general elections. Following a worldwide trend, Indian political players are increasingly using social media for normal political communication between elections in order to allow unmediated and direct connections between leaders and citizens, as well as to re-energize the political scene in the nation. While the most recent general election presented the most apparent expressions of this transformation, social media platforms have been integrated into routinised political communication since the 2014 general elections, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surged to power. Modi has built its own form of political communication that is participatory and ongoing, bypassing traditional media and ignoring detractors. His successful use of social media for political agenda building, policy crowdsourcing, and publicity can be seen in pan-India campaigns like Swacch Bharat (Clean India) and the recently launched Fit India Movement, which tries to encourage citizens to engage in physical activity and sports in their daily lives. Modi's stunning victory in the 2014 general election caused other political players in India to sit up and take note of social media's game-changing potential.

Social media and politicians

Political parties now get their own websites, which was not the case a few years ago, and some of them also communicate with people through other social media platforms. Every political party now has its own website, and leaders are active on social media, giving citizens the impression that they are within reach. It is no longer necessary to make appointments or wait for them to speak. At the touch of a button, the leaders may be reached. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party's vice president and one of India's youth stars, has interacted with the public through nearly every social media platform except physical conversation. He has utilised social networking sites such as Facebook to communicate with individuals, both famous people and ordinary people. Prime minister, Mr Narender Modi, has interacted with the public through various forms of media. He has used social media to efficiently transmit meaning and stay in contact with India's youthful people.

In recent years, two major national parties in India, the Indian National Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party, have engaged in an online political struggle. Propaganda is actively utilised against each other on the internet. Every media is being exploited to conduct a word war. One tweet prompts an instant response from the other. The most famous tweets from both sides were from the BJP, which referred to Rahul Gandhi as 'Pappu,' and the Congress, which referred to Narender Modi as 'Feku.' Both parties aim to minimise their accomplishments while exaggerating their opponents' failings. Both sides claim to have a sizable following. In a social media age, when such messages are amplified, disseminated, and duplicated among populations with low-to-no critical digital literacy, the routinization of such political speech is problematic in and of itself. These alarming developments raise new considerations about the ethics of modern political communication, as well as the responsibilities of governments, companies, the press, and individuals in preventing unethical political speech. Ironically, all of these people play a part in the propagation of the problem to some level. As a result, they must collaborate with academia, civic society, and ethicists to stop routinized immoral speech and its negative consequences through social media.

Impact of social media on politics

Facebook, YouTube, WeChat, Instagram, Quora, QQ, QZone, Weibo, Twitter, Tumblr, Tiktok, Reddit, LinkedIn, LINE, Snapchat, Pinterest, Viber, and VK are examples of social networking platforms. All actions relating to a country's or region's government are included in political processes and activities. Political organization, global politics, political corruption, political parties, and political principles are all examples of this. The internet has provided communication channels that are critical in the dissemination of news, and social media has the capacity to alter not just the content, but also the dynamics of political corruption, values, and conflict dynamics in politics. Diplomacy throughout the world has grown less private and more prone to public opinion as a result of the use of social media in political processes, global warfare, and radical politics.

In recent years, there have been several incidents in international politics in which social media has played a key role. The use of social media has resulted in a fundamental reorganisation of global politics. Long-standing dictatorial governments have been crushed beneath the weight of revolutions fuelled by internet connectivity, while voters have been persuaded by social media campaigns.

The content that people view on social media is frequently filtered. Many algorithms are used on various social media platforms to filter the content that individual users see. Once the algorithms have a good understanding of a user's likes and dislikes, they can start tailoring their feed to their preferences. As a result, an echo chamber is created. Information may be presented on popular venues via social media platforms, which limits communication. News articles may quickly become popular on social media, but this can lead to misinterpretations and controversy. Leaders' attention has shifted from administrative dynamics to new media technology as a result of strategies and social media adaptation. On social media platforms, technological developments in communication may increase the power of influence, resulting in corruption, scandals, and violence. Because of its unmonitored system, low interface, and accessibility, the role of technological communication and social media in the world can lead to political, economic, and social conflict.

Instead of using social media to engage with their constituents and build a discourse, political parties utilise the media to promote themselves. Send out a message and let your followers do the rest of the job of sharing and loving it. If a post has a big impact, it may be reused and highlighted again, giving the senders a lot of exposure without them having to do much.

Conclusion

The introduction of social media has altered the way politics is organised and done in India, as well as the nature of political communication. On the one hand, social media has helped to democratise politics and revitalise the political scene. On the other hand, the engagement of political actors in non-ethical uses of social media, combined by the spread of social media among a mostly digitally illiterate public, raises various ethical difficulties. Political actors will have to assess the political benefits against the very real security and human consequences that would result from continued non-ethical use of social media, particularly in the domain of national security. While name-calling, false news, and other forms of low-level discourse and unethical political communication have long existed, social media has unquestionably amplified these issues. Observers have bemoaned how the country's political discourse has sunk to new lows, with disinformation, insults, and mudslinging becoming commonplace even among the country's most senior politicians.

The average man has never been more empowered and engaged in expressing political beliefs with the introduction of social media. The youth are discussing political concerns, which is a beneficial aspect of social media's growth. Previously, political debates were limited to those who read newspapers, watched news channels, or took part in discussions in village or panchayats. However, social networking has caused India's youth to sit up and talk about political concerns. They devote time to analysing and debating politics. They now have opinions on current political developments and have a say in administrative decision-making.

References

1.https://www.gjimt.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/3_Surjit-Kaur_Manpreet-Kaur_Impact_of_social_Media_on_Politics.pdf

2.https://www.miun.se/en/Research/archive/how-do-the-parties-use-social-media-who-is-actually-working-for-whom/

3.https://www.epw.in/engage/article/how-did-social-media-impact-india-2019-general-election