SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT ON POLITICS

Abstract

The rise of the internet in the early 1990s, has led to the increase in the world's networked population. The networked population has greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech and a better ability to undertake united action. Social media has become a fact of life for civil society world over, involving many actors -- regular citizens, activists, non-governmental organizations, telecommunications firms, software providers, and also governments at large. Social media revolution in the Indian political scene is real, tangible and accelerating. Keeping an eye on upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the objective of this article is to study the impact of social media viz. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube on Indian politics. No doubt social media is now being seriously considered by the Indian political parties as a means to reach out to the electorate.