How Irish Political Parties are Using Social Networking Sites to Reach Generation Z: an Insight into a New Online Social Network in a Small Democracy

Abstract

Political scientists have pointed to falling levels of participation, trust in institutions and party activism in modern democracies (Dalton, ). In many democracies political engagement with young voters has proven challenging. The worry is that potential first-time voters, if alienated from the political process, will disengage from it (Huggins, ). Fieldhouse et al. () discovered that in  Europe democracies voter turnout of those under  was almost % lower than amongst the general electorate, while in Ireland the gap was .%. Political party membership has declined in Ireland to just , (Weeks, : ). This suggests that only .% of the population are members of political parties. Yet, membership in other group activities, such as community groups and sectional groups, is increasing (Jordan and Maloney, ). According to Tolbert and McNeal (: ) evidence suggests ‘that changes in communication technology may play an important role in influencing electoral behavior’. In particular, the internet has been promoted as a channel through which the young may become politically mobilised (Baumgartner and Morris, : ). Here we examine the use of social networking sites in political communications in Ireland. Boyd and Ellison (: ) define such sites as: