Social Media and Political Socialization of Students in Higher Education Institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Modern communication technologies have profoundly influenced all the sphere of human life. Every aspect of social life including but not limited to education, administration, and statecraft etc. have been influenced by contemporary advancement in technologies. Political socialization is also not immune to its influence. This article focuses on the impacts of new media on political socialization of students of higher education institutions in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Awareness of the democratic system, civic sense and democratic obligations are powerful tools to enable the citizens to effectively engage in a country’s politics. Social media is
significantly playing its role in providing a deliberative forum to citizens of all age groups in general and young citizens in particular for the development of political socialization. This paper employs positivist approach. Survey has been conducted by using adapted questionnaire (contained 49 questions) which was consisted of 4 research variables and 6 demographic variables. Different statistical tests have been employed for extracting analytical findings.