What Makes Us Tick?
Social Media in Shaping Youth Engagement in Elections
Author: Philomena Esi Agudu (Ghana) | 1st place winner of the 2024 Youth & Elections in Africa Essay Contest
What makes you tick?
Hopefully for young people, it is beyond the rising patronage of TikTok.
The causal relationship between social media and youth engagement in elections first and foremost, is at the epicenter of a peculiar leadership dysfunction in Africa. I had no idea there was a name for it, so I typed a picturesque description into Google and was promptly struck by a succinct label. Gerontocracy in Africa. It is a political phenomenon characterized by throngs of elderly people in power, often at the expense of the expressivity and representation of young people. Gerontocracy is a subtle social construct, so that unless a political landscape is objectively assessed, it remains a prevailing leadership ideal. Who would have conjectured that a harmless cultural ideal as respect for the elderly could ingeniously transition into a stifled representation of the youth in political engagement?
Eventually gerontocracy creates a conservative social climate and a fixed mindset across the continent. The generational gap between the two demographic profiles unfortunately marginalizes young people and trivializes their representation. Consequently, passivity became the predominant posture of young people with regards to politics. Of what use is the participation in elections if the resultant leadership contributes little to the interests of the young citizenry? Issues of unemployment, inflation and health have been uppermost in many youth-driven demonstrations.
Medically speaking, physiological hearing impairment is diagnostic in the aged. It should be no surprise then, that young people feel woefully unheard by elderly dominated leadership regimes.
In what capacity has social media enhanced youth engagement in elections?
Social media has become the panacea for expressivity; something that a conservative culture struggles to give young people. For the first time, they have been liberated from sycophancy and are empowered to speak up. The cultural mantra of being “old enough to be your father” is no longer a weapon to perpetuate manipulation and a lack of transparency. This movement has restored the principle of checks and balances through the promotion of constructive criticism and healthy dialogue. In addition, the government is highly accountable and answerable to the young citizenry. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X have created opportunities for young people to engage in political dialogues. Various political parties now have digital communities that enable young people to virtually participate in political rallies and events. Technology through social media has significantly enhanced youth participation in politics. Because social media encourages dialogue and political advocacy, the voices of young people have been amplified and this cascade effect materializes in increased voter turnout.
The average young person spends more than two hours a day on social media and that is enough time to be influenced on many levels. The acceleration in political career considerations is a new normal, and social media has a stake in this movement. LinkedIn for instance, is a productivity based social media platform that facilitates strategic networking amongst individuals. Young people who aspire for political careers have the opportunity to access role models in leadership to enable them to have better perspective and guidance regarding the political climate on the ground. This greatly promotes youth leadership.
As instrumental as social media has been in spearheading youth political engagement, unfortunately it can be weaponized. The freedom of expressivity of social media has nurtured a platform for inflammatory comments, the slandering of political figures, fake news circulation and the overall perpetuation of division amongst the citizenry. Regrettably young people sometimes enjoy the negative patronage of social media in promoting their interests. The legendary Charles H. Spurgeon remarked regarding young people: “…your passions are strong but your wisdom is little.” With their sharp tongues and overzealousness young people are quick to join the bandwagon in tearing down prevailing national unity.
Youth representation in politics is not an attempt to sabotage the cultural respect Africa upholds for its elders. By eliminating gerontocracy from mainstream governance, the goal is to create generational balance in leadership, not to encourage young people to slander elderly authority.
So how exactly can social media be properly stewarded in promoting youth political engagement?
The legislature and judiciary are potent stakeholders in enforcing discipline and the respect of the rights of all. Laws regarding healthy social media usage should be enforced. Individuals who falter and instigate slander against political figures should be answerable to legal authorities. This way, unhealthy expressivity is curtailed. Heavy fines and legal penalties should be imposed on circulators of fake news on social media. By ensuring robust legal security in the social media space, African youth are operationally conditioned to penalties. In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be encouraged to circulate peace campaigns through the vehicle of social media, so as to diffuse virtual environments with positivity.
Most of the research projects exploring the causal relationship between social media and youth political engagement are Westernized. It is imperative that Africa also undertakes tailored research programs to better estimate the impact of social media on political engagement of the youth in this setting. This way, more specific and sensitive interventions can be formulated to navigate both the incentives and challenges of this interesting dynamic.
Conclusion
Social media has diversified the true meaning of political participation. No longer is political engagement stereotypically akin to voting during elections. It is also as fundamental as the varied perspectives of the citizenry manifesting in political careers and political advocacy through dialogues, debates and protests. Africa’s youth represent a critical mass of the electorate. Political engagement is a flagship feature of democratic governance, and it is important that this democracy outlives other conventional but dysfunctional forms of leadership across the continent. Social media has quickened the political appetite of young people, by exposing them to a holistic definition of political engagement. Youth participation during elections has eventually intensified, by virtue of their new-found capacity to make informed decisions devoid of gerontocratic manipulation.
Something about us young people is ignited when we feel heard, prioritized and collaborated with. That something is what makes us tick, and social media simply gets it.
REFERENCES
- Abdelsalam M. Alodat , Lamis F. Al Qora’n, Muwafaq A. Hamound. (2023) Social Media platforms and political participation. A study of Jordanian Youth Engagement. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372279655_Social_Media_Platforms_and_Political_Participation_A_Study_of_Jordanian_Youth_Engagement
- Adegbindin O. (2011) The Problem of Gerontocracy in Africa: The Yoruba perspective as illustrated in the Ifa corpus. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257909589_The_problem_of_gerontocracy_in_Africa_The_Yoruba_perspective_as_illustrated_in_the_Ifa_corpus
- Resnick D., Casale D. ( November 2011) The political participation of African youth: turnout, partnership and protest. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/134548/afropaperno136.pdf
- Matthes J. ( February 8, 2022) Social media and the political engagement of young adults: Between mobilization and distraction. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358484440_Social_Media_and_the_Political_Engagement_of_Young_Adults_Between_Mobilization_and_Distraction
- Kopti A., Gentry B. ( April 19, 2023) How can social media improve youth voter engagement? Bridgewater College , department of political science. https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1351&context=hono rs_projects
