First Advisor
Kristin Bovaird-Abbo
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Document Type
Thesis
Date Created
11-1-2020
Department
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Political Science and International Affairs, PSIA Student Work
Abstract
Participation in democracy is important to its ability to remain functional over time. Young people have continually been shown to participate less in democracy than their older counterparts in the United States, especially when it comes to traditional forms of electoral politics like voting. The relationship between social media use and political participation is important to study. There could be certain mechanisms of social media depressing or increasing political participation that could yield important information for promoting youth turnout in elections. This study examines the relationship between Snapchat use and voter turnout in the United States 2018 midterm elections among students at University of Northern Colorado through a survey. Certain types of social media activity have a stronger relationship with political participation than others, and this study assesses what types of Snapchat use affects voter turnout. Among female participants, uploading a story on Snapchat that is political in nature was associated with higher voter turnout in the United States November 2018 midterm elections. However, viewing political news on Snapchat was negatively correlated with voter turnout in the United States November 2018 midterm elections for participants.
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by the author.
Recommended Citation
Canipe, Christopher, "The Relationship between College Students' Snapchat Use and Voter Turnout in the 2018 US Midterm Elections" (2020). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 40.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/honors/40