SOCIO-POLITICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MALAYSIAN NET GENERATION WHO USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR POLITICAL INFORMATION: AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS

Abstract

Political information appears to be a precious commodity in political process to ensure a healthy, functioning democracy. With the emergence of the Internet, social media has become one of the central premises for political information creation, circulation and consumption. Many have touted social media as effective platforms to garner and mobilize voter support, especially among the wired youth, of whom are the dominant users of social media, and in recent years, even to sway the Malaysian general election results. By employing an online self-administered survey questionnaire with 379 Malaysian respondents aged between 18 and 24 at a local university, this paper aims to provide an exploratory analysis of the socio-political characteristics of the Malaysian Net Generation who rely mainly on social media for political information. Given Malaysians as young as 18 years old are now eligible to cast a vote in the elections, the study comes in timely as it offers insights on who are these Net Geners. The findings, even preliminary in nature, would contribute emerging insights in explaining the implications of social media on youth participation as well as the shifting Malaysian political landscape.