Information exposure behavior and political participation in the digital age via social media

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) study the behavior of information exposure and political participation in the digital age via social media, and 2) study the relationship between information exposure and political participation in the digital age via social media. This study was quantitative research. The sample consisted of 400 people living in Phitsanulok province. The research instrument was a questionnaire. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient. The research results found that 1) The behavior of receiving political news via social media was at a high level overall and in each aspect. When considering each aspect, it was found that receiving news had the highest average value, followed by seeking news, exposure to experience, devices used for receiving news, and the duration of receiving news, which had the lowest average value. 2) Political participation in the digital age was at a high level overall and in each aspect. When considering each aspect, it was found that exercising the right to vote had the highest average value, followed by participating in political activities, public political participation, organizing and being a member of political groups, and political gatherings, which had the lowest average values. 3) Political news-receiving behavior via social media and the set of political participation variables in the digital age were highly related overall.