Abstract
Turkish youth is characterized with low level of political participation. Several surveys showed that less than 10 percent of Turkish youth are active in political parties and civil society organizations. There are cultural and behavioral reasons of this inertia. Meanwhile, Facebook, the most important social network site is widely used in Turkey and Turkish users form the 6th biggest population in Facebook but level of political participation in Facebook is unknown. By using data collected from 563 university students, this paper showed that there different dimensions of political participation in Facebook and level of activity in these dimensions is dependent on several factors. Demographic factors are important in “active participation”, meanwhile participation through “direct” or “indirect” expression are affected by Facebook usage patterns of respondent as well as “real life” political activities and perceptions.
Highlights
Turkish youth is characterized with their inertia to participate in politics
Dimensions of Political Activities in Facebook There are alternative ways of political participation in Facebook, and it changes from being a passive spectator of political discussions, such as following political activities, being a “fan” of a political candidate; to share political information such as link, news column; or to take a part in deliberation through discussion or chatting
There is a room for further political involvement: user can form a political group or join a group formed by other people
Summary
Turkish youth is characterized with their inertia to participate in politics. More than one survey showed that only 10 percent of young people living in Turkey are involved in direct politics such as becoming a member of a political party or directly participating in canvassing and other conventional political activities. Participation in unconventional politics is limited, Turkish youth don‟t prefer to participate in boycotts or meetings, as well as being a member of a civil society organization is not popular among them. Number of Facebook users is more than 30 million and 90 percent of “online” citizens have Facebook account. With these figures, Turkey composes the 6th biggest Facebook nation in the world
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