ECHO CHAMBERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS ROLE IN POLITICAL POLARIZATION AMONG YOUTH

Abstract

This study explores the echo chamber on social media and its role in political radicalization among youth. Echo chambers are situations where one is exposed only to opinions that are in line with their own mindset. The unit of analysis of this study was male and female students of university of Sargodha. Self-administered questionnaire used for data collection from 400 hundred respondents. SPSS and R programming was used for the data analysis. This article demonstrates how users of the internet frequently choose material that supports their point of view and disregard information that does not fit into their existing believes. More exposure to such information will create resistance for any other information leading users to become more radicalized. This study looks at the connection between people's selective exposure and political polarization or echo chamber effect. The result reveals that majority of respondents feel more pleasure on seeing stories showcasing success or victory of the party they are supporting. The analysis of result shows that social media produces reinforcement effect on majority of social media users which force them to remain in the same state of mind. Furthermore it is more likely that social media playing an important role in creating echo chamber through negative comments, heated debates and friendship choices. Findings further reveal that, relationship of majority of respondents affected due to supporting political party. Study observed that sharing of any political content by in group users on social media against the out group users trigger the process of radicalization. Study recommends social media literacy outreach programs to educate users about dynamics of social media contents and strategies to avoid radicalization. People frequently look for evidence to support their own opinions. People think differently for the same situation so they mostly support the situation that relates to their own thinking and opinion.