How has social media changed the way we engage in politics?

One picture is far better than 1000 worlds and social media is using this fact properly thus fascinating the new generation and grabbing their attention. Newspapers are loosing it's importance and reels, videos, animations etc are replacing the earlier information sources very efficiently. Manipulation of the thoughts 💭 are easily achieved by playing with the information circulation. Data and specific information about the individuals' are the treasure for the political parties and using such data, particular dominations can be achieved. 

How Political Communication engaging people in politics ?

Politics is the intricate web of activities that revolve around a country’s government and its elected representatives’ official actions. It’s a dynamic field with its language, strategies, and tools. Central to this realm is political communication, a process that plays a pivotal role in shaping our societies and governments. Political communication is forming the narratives that make citizens more aware, persuades and drives the actions of population. It doesn't only include the conveying of information but also about framing the information in such a way that resonates with the trust, faith, emotions and aspirations of the people. 

 Whether it is in support of against the political opinions, political communication is a tool for influencing opinions, decisions, and actions.

Political communication encompasses various forms, from media interviews and published documents to websites, op-eds, and political campaigns. Show casing the things that public wants to see and manipulation of the opinions and viewpoints accordingly. Breaking up or adding up through editing or AI are the features today's political communication is working on. 

Elements like a politician‘s logo, mannerisms, and speaking style are integral to their political communication strategy. Cinema and audience engagement are key aspects of effective political communication, as they help politicians connect with their constituents personally. 

Social Media: A Game Changer in Politic Campaigns :- Every big and strong nations are backing up their favourite ruling party whenever in the specific nations, elections are taking place. China's and USA's interference in the Indian elections are always traced as these countries always influence the people to cast vote to their selected regime. Russia is suspected of indulging in the USA election especially in 2016. At social media, votes' interests, analogy, opinions, thoughts and actions are transformed into the specific parties by emphasising on the visuals that suits voters requirements and henceforth the political parties results and elections. 

The growth of social media has introduced hazards and concerns. While algorithms and echo chambers have reinforced preexisting biases and impeded access to different points of view, political actors have utilized social media to propagate propaganda, disinformation, and hate speech.

Positives of Social media in political communication:- Traditional political campaigns have long been synonymous with exorbitant spending. Campaign budgets, often in the billions, made it challenging for political newcomers to gain traction without influential donors. This predicament perpetuated the incumbency advantage, with up to 90% of incumbents being reelected in what research terms “the incumbency advantage.” However, the emergence of social media has disrupted this entrenched narrative. 

Social media enhances the incumbents' performance and political newcomers to communicate and discuss directly with constituents on various topics, from policy discussions to personal anecdotes. Sharing of the thoughts by the population at social media enables more understanding and development of more mutual exclusiveness. Manifestos' elaborations are forcing the parties and voters to think progressively and orientation towards the country's prosperity and evolution in positive manner can be done. 

" In Politics, All Communication Counts "

Conclusion :- 

Social media, scholars have expressed great hopes regarding young adults’ democratic engagement. It has been argued that particularly social media can build new relationships between political actors and young adults, enable social interaction about political topics, connect people, enhance political opinion expression, equalize engagement and generally foster participation as well as boost voter turnout or contribute to social cohesion.The main reason is that social media are primarily used for entertainment and social networking purposes, which has the potential to distract rather than mobilize. Incidental exposure to non-political content “can have important effects on political outcomes such as learning or participation.