Use of Social Media for Political Purposes: The Case of Diyarbakir
Use of Social Media for Political Purposes: The Case of Diyarbakir

Summary/Abstract: The use of social media, which has turned into a different area of communication with the developments in technology, creates a participatory, free and democratic space according to some approaches, and can turn into an easily controlled surveillance and pressure area according to some approaches. The main point in these different approaches is whether social media creates an alternative space that increases the opportunities for political participation, provides freedom of expression to opposing views and contributes to the advancement of democracy. In this study, individuals' political preferences and identities of social media political-based use of the axis, effect, inhibiting factors of the use of social media what is happening has been aimed to examine regarding the current discussions in Turkey, in Diyarbakir where ethnic identity is the focus and in this sense having an identity opposing to the widespread political say. Questionnaire technique was used as data collection tool in the study. The survey was conducted face-to-face to 618 people with the method of “random sampling”. Survey forms of 540 social media users out of 618 people were included in the evaluation. The data obtained from the field study were analysed by using descriptive statistical techniques. In terms of the level of political participation, the percentages of the participants towards the behaviours of political participation in the axis of both political identities and political preferences were found to be relatively different from each other.

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