The Role of Social Media in Enhancing Political Activism and Accountability in Contemporary Democracies

Abstract

Social media has become a powerful tool for political engagement, activism, and accountability in contemporary democracies. This study explores the role of social media in enhancing political activism and accountability, focusing on how these variables influence political participation. The objectives are to assess the impact of political activism, political accountability, and social media usage on political engagement. A quantitative approach was adopted, utilizing a regression analysis to examine relationships between the variables. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using statistical methods to determine the significance of the variables. The results indicate that political accountability has the strongest impact on political engagement, with an R-squared value of 0.67, followed by political activism (R-squared 0.58). Social media usage, while slightly weaker, still demonstrated a significant influence with an R-squared value of 0.46. These findings confirm the hypotheses that political activism, accountability, and social media usage are all significant drivers of political participation. However, the study also highlights that social media's impact is enhanced when online campaigns are aligned with offline actions. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the growing importance of social media in political processes, particularly for fostering accountability and activism. The limitations include reliance on self-reported data and the lack of differentiation between social media platforms. Implications suggest that policymakers and activists can use social media to improve political transparency and engagement, but further research is needed to explore long-term effects and platform-specific impacts.