An Exploratory Study On The Influence Of Digital Media On Voting Decision Of Voters (With Special Reference To Social Media Users)
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Abstract
The study aimed at investigating whether social media is capable of influencing voting decisions. Further to identify the important aspects influencing the voters to believe in social media content. For the study, the descriptive research design was adopted. The data was collected from 388 voters belonging to West Bengal using the convenience sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument for the study. From the analysis performed it was perceived that an equal proportion of male and female voters are present in West Bengal mostly belonging to the age category above 45 Years. Further, it was found that there is no significant difference in the Reasons making Social Media platforms impact the voting decision of the voters belonging to different ages and gender. It was identified that the constant circulation of certain news on social media platforms by my peers and friends and social media news coming from well-known people or personalities make voters unconsciously believe in social media news. It was well understood by the majority of the respondents that social media is influencing the voting decision significantly.
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