Drivers of Participation: Investigating the Roles of Political Interest and Social Pressure in Online and Offline Political Engagement Among College Students

This study looks at the relationship between genuine interest and social pressure in politics and college students’ engagement with current events. This research aims to address two questions: Do college students post about politics on social media because they are interested in it or because they feel social pressure to? What do they believe is the effect of social media engagement, and how does this compare to offline engagement? To answer these questions, two hypotheses we examined: There are two main groups of students who use social media for political engagement, one who is actually interested in the topics they post about and participates in other offline activities, and another who is not interested in politics but has higher levels of perceived social pressure. Those who are genuinely interested in politics and choose to engage with it through social media find it more effective than those who do not, and less difficult than those who do not. A survey was conducted which gathered responses from Stanford students asking questions about their interest in politics, feelings of social pressure, and levels of engagement online and offline. Analysis of survey responses found that genuine interest was a significant predictor in how often students engaged online, and that social pressure kept students from participating in discussions about politics and current events. This research suggests that the current political climate on college campuses creates a stifling environment that dissuades students from engaging with politics for fear of backlash of their views.