Abstract
Political participation in Pakistan was expected to rise because of the enormous democratic potential of social media; nevertheless, a drop has been observed following an initial increase. This scenario encourages investigation of the decisive factors that might draw disengaged citizens into participatory politics. Therefore, this study illustrates the results of a Pakistani sample (n = 410) regarding the role of social media in influencing political participation in online and offline platforms. Five variables were examined using partial least squares (PLS) to see how they influenced online and offline political participation. The OSOR model of communication mediation was used for this purpose. Its implications were extended by simultaneously incorporating three outcome orientations—political expression, political efficacy, and partisanship—as mediators. In addition, we included political interest as an antecedent orientation and social media use as stimuli. Online and offline political participation were placed under response as endogenous variables. Our findings acknowledged nine direct and five indirect correlations out of ten direct and six indirect relationships. Political efficacy neither influenced offline political participation nor proved to be a mediator between social media use and offline political participation. We conclude with study implications, limitations, and recommendations for future scholars.
Highlights
In political communication, the influential role of modern communication technology in developing democratic strength, the formation of political attitudes and political participation have become matters of great concern for scholars (Galandini and Fieldhouse 2019; Széll 2018)
Social media use exhibited a positive influence on political efficacy (β = 0.395, p < 0.001), political expression (β = 0.350, p < 0.001), and partisanship (β = 0.335, p < 0.001)
Political efficacy as an outcome orientation had a positive influence on online political participation (β = 0.079, p < 0.05), but had no influence on offline political participation (β = 0.043, p > 0.05)
Summary
The influential role of modern communication technology in developing democratic strength, the formation of political attitudes and political participation have become matters of great concern for scholars (Galandini and Fieldhouse 2019; Széll 2018). A participatory public has long been regarded as a critical component of politics and the strength of the political system. A well-informed and politically active electorate, in a democratic system, is the most important constraint on the negligence and malpractices of the elected governments. This notion expressed by social scientists has confirmed that political participation is at the centre of a democratic political formula. Democracy will lack credibility and guiding power if the public is not involved in the political process (Guven 2020)
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