The Influence of Social Media on Online Political Participation among College Students: Mediation of Political Talks

Abstract

This study explores and discusses the impact of political talks as a mediator of social media use on online political participation. It uses a survey method to collect data on college students in West Java concerning the 2019 Indonesian presidential election, and a total of 1,050 students filled out the questionnaires. The results showed that online political talk served as a mediator instead of face-to-face political talks. Furthermore, politics and social media use positively affected online political participation. Concerning the implication of this study, social media can be a means of political discussion to increase participation among youth, especially college students.