THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN CREATING POLITICAL AWAREESS AMONG THE DELHI WOMEN
Abstract
Almost all social movements in countries with high internet access rates discuss social
media's role. Social media have become a free and highly effective means of reaching
large audiences for political purposes. The way we live has changed a lot because of
social media. It has changed how we talk to each other, share personal photos and
videos, and look at and talk about news about daily life, politics, sports, markets, and
much more on the Internet using computers, tablets, cell phones, etc. Recent trends
show that the number of people using social media has increased significantly.
This study sought to find out the role of social media in creating awareness on the
political issues among women in Delhi. The major Research Questions in the
proposed study is to find Is there any difference in political knowledge between
working women and non-working women?, How social media is contributing as an
important medium for creating awareness and knowledge sharing? and How much
time do women spend on social media to get political information? To find out all
these asnwers following objectives have been taken- 1.To study the role of social
media in bringing political awareness among women. 2. To determine the level of
political awareness among women on social media. 3. To find whether there is a gap
in the level of political awareness between working women and non-working women?
In this Study Researcher applied ―Uses and Gratification theory‖ that points how
users gratify their needs. Unlike traditional media, which gives users limited choices,
this new media offers new options, and this theory helps define users‘ needs and
achieve gratifications. The study used a convenient sampling technique to deliberately
select a specific population for study. The study had a target population of women
with a sample size of 330 respondents were used in data collection. This research
found many things- The Majority of the surveyed women accepted the statement that
social media use contributes to their political knowledge. According to this research
there is a high level of political awareness among working women in comparison to
non-working. Thus, the researcher found that social media is influencing and
increasing political awareness among the Delhi women.