The Impact of Social Media in Shaping Political Discourse

With the advancement in technology, channels for political communication have widened. It has eased the dissemination of information and interaction with the masses. One such possibility arises with the coming up of ‘Digital age’. It involves the use of social media to provide for quick information sharing, public participation, grassroots mobilization, and has completely changed the way political conversation takes place. The Digital age has led to democratization of information, has enabled people to access information, openly express their opinions and communicate with each other’s, politicians and influential public figures. In contrast challenges like disinformation, polarization, and other ethical issues have emerged rampantly, questioning the excesses made by use of technology. The paper highlights ways that social media has promoted political awareness, elevated underrepresented perspectives, impacted election results, and influenced political communication. The paper assesses the need for regulatory frameworks to curb the associated ills.