Does Social Media Close the Political Efficacy Gap to Participate in Politics?

This study examined the effects of social media use on the intention to participate in politics. This study used Korean Youth and Children Integrated Survey published by the National Youth Policy Institute in South Korea. The effects of social media dependency and interest in socio-political issues on the intention to participate in politics were verified using a general linear model. Social media dependency, socio-political interest, and political efficacy all had significant main effects on the intent to participate in politics; the interaction effect of ‘social media dependency × political efficacy’ was significant. The result showed that young people who have greater political efficacy have much more intention to participate in politics when they more depend on social media for the purpose of acquiring social and political issues. Social media dependency has a moderating effect that closes the political efficacy gap.