Paper Details

Name: Deepali Solankey & Ashwani Kumar
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Volume-13, Issue-1 (January-June)
Page Number: 251-263
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20233873

ABSTRACT
This study investigates how social media activity affects both youth voters and first-time voters during the Indian General Elections 2024. Political communication now occurs through interactive digital platforms which include Instagram Facebook and X because these platforms have rapidly expanded their user base. The research investigates how social media engagement affects young voters' political knowledge and their voting behavior and political views. The researchers employed a descriptive and analytical research design which included 200 participants as their study sample. The researchers used structured questionnaires with a Likert scale to gather data which they analyzed using statistical methods that included correlation and regression analysis. The study results show that social media use improves political awareness and increases voter turnout while simultaneously exposing young people to false information and partisan material. The research shows how social media functions as
an educational resource that also serves to control voter behavior during elections. The study reveals that digital literacy needs to be developed together with ethical campaigning practices and regulatory systems so that people can make informed choices. The research shows how digital technology has changed political participation patterns while offering information that governments and political organizations need to handle future research activities.
Keywords: Social Media Engagement, Youth Voters, First-Time Voters, Voting Behaviour,
Political Awareness, Digital Media, Electoral Participation, Indian General Elections 2024