Date of Award
4-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Patrick Donnay
Abstract
Social media is becoming more important in today’s digital society, but how effective is the use of social media when it comes to political engagement? How do environmental organizations use social media and is it effective in encouraging their “followers” to engage in online and/or offline political activity? I collected Facebook and Twitter data from ten environmental organizations to assess the effectiveness of each posting. I hypothesize that the groups making direct calls for action via social media receive a greater response – beyond “clicktivism” or “slacktivism” – than the groups that do not. The data includes the number of “likes” and “shares” for each organization’s Facebook and Twitter page, as well as the content of each individual posting and whether or not the organization made a direct call for some sort of action. Tentative results show that, for most organizations, follower interaction increases when the organization makes a direct call to action. However, the social media interaction between a specific environmental organization and its followers seems to vary widely from group to group. These tentative results indicate support for my hypothesis but also provide other valuable information about the use of social media and its impact on political engagement.
Recommended Citation
Cate, Tyler, "Social Media & Political Engagement: Environmental Organizations, Social Media and Political Engagement" (2016). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 101.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/101
Included in
American Politics Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Media Commons
