Examining social media users’ political attitudes offers a vital subject for investigation, as news dissemination and political discussion increasingly depend on this platform. Drawing on the existing studies, the researchers strive to clarify the common denominator between social media use and Malaysian political attitudes. The data utilized in this study is derived from a survey questionnaire that was sent to social media users in Malaysia. The questions covered various aspects of political engagement, efficacy and trust: ultimately, they can help determine the respondent’s motivations, actions and opinions regarding the area of politics in Malaysia. By explaining this scenario, the results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how social media affects political discourse and participation in Malaysia among users and stakeholders regarding politics in Malaysia. The implications of this study are significant for policymakers, political campaigners, and social media platforms, as the findings can inform strategies to enhance political engagement, foster democratic participation, and improve the overall quality of political communication on social media.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Dholakia, U. M. (2006). Antecedents and purchase consequences of customer participation in small group brand communities. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23(1), 45–61.
Bail, C. A., Argyle, L. P., Brown, T. W., Bumpus, J. P., Chen, H., Hunzaker, M. B. F., Lee, J., Mann, M., Merhout, F., & Volfovsky, A. (2018). Exposure to opposing views on social media can increase political polarization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(37), 9216– 9221.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.
Bandura, A., Freeman, W. H., & Lightsey, R. (1999). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.
Ceron, A., Curini, L., & Iacus, S. M. (2014). Using sentiment analysis to monitor electoral campaigns: Method matters—Evidence from the United States and Italy. Social Science Computer Review, 32(1), 80–97.
Chen, W., & Wellman, B. (2004). The global digital divide—Within and between countries. IT & Society, 1(7), 39–45.
Crawford, K. (2009). Following you: Disciplines of listening in social media. Continuum, 23(4), 525–535.
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Jung, N., & Valenzuela, S. (2012). Social media use for news and individuals’ social capital, civic engagement and political participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 319–336.
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Puig-i-Abril, E., & Rojas, H. (2009). Weblogs, traditional sources online and political participation: An assessment of how the internet is changing the political environment. New Media & Society, 11(4), 553–574.
Granovetter, M. (2005). The impact of social structure on economic outcomes. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(1), 33–50.
Hollebeek, L. D., & Chen, T. (2021). The boundary spanning role of social media in external corporate communications: Antecedents, mechanism, and outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 132, 581–595.
Kim, Y., Sohn, D., & Choi, S. M. (2013). Cultural difference in motivations for using social network sites: A comparative study of American and Korean college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(5), 1392–1400.
Kodish, S. P., & Pettegrew, L. S. (2022). Tweeting terror: An analysis of ISIS Twitter propaganda. Journal of Terrorism Research, 13(1), 87–100.
Lee, J. K., & Ma, L. (2012). News sharing in social media: The effect of gratifications and prior experience. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(2), 331–339.
Parmelee, J. H., & Bichard, S. L. (2011). Politics and the Twitter revolution: How tweets influence the relationship between political leaders and the public. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Rheingold, H. (2008). Using participatory media and public voice to encourage civic engagement. In K. Varnelis (Ed.), Networked Publics (pp. 57–76). MIT Press.
Tangney, B., Holbrook, A., & Baker, M. J. (2004). Do we really know how and why we purchase? Recent research suggests that consumers often have poor insight into the underlying causes of their behavior. Journal of Advertising Research, 44(1), 18–28.
Vaccari, C., Valeriani, A., Barberá, P., Jost, J. T., Nagler, J., Tucker, J. A., & Nyhan, B. (2022). Political misinformation and conspiracy theories in the wake of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. American Political Science Review, 116(3), 921–944.
Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2020). Customer engagement in service. Journal of Service Research, 23(3), 243–265.
Vitak, J., Zube, P., Smock, A., Carr, C., Ellison, N., & Lampe, C. (2011). It’s complicated: Facebook users’ political participation in the 2008 election. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(3), 107–114.
Weeks, B. E., Ardèvol-Abreu, A., & Gil de Zúñiga, H. (2017). Online influence? Social media use, opinion leadership, and political persuasion. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 29(2), 214–239.
Sapar, N., Hussin, A. R. C., & Yazid, M. H. A. (2024). Social Media Users’ Attitudes towards Politics in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(12), 1667–1680.
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
