Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media

Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Communication and Media

Investigating The Effects of Digital Communication and Media Technologies on Political Participation in Rural Communities With an Emphasis on Internal Messengers (Case Study: Villages in Malekan County)

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Ahmad hajarian
Assistant Professor, Department of Rural Planning, Faculty of Geography and Planning, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran (Corresponding Author)
10.22034/jiscm.2023.399014.1517
Abstract
The concept of “political participation” includes a group of new strategies, concepts, ideas, and organizations that meet social needs. On the other hand, social networks play a very effective role in promoting or reducing its indicators because the extent of the impact of social networks on rural spaces presents a different and diverse picture. The present study tried to examine the aspect of political participation of residents in the rural areas under study. The research was applied in terms of the objective and in terms of the possibility of controlling variables, it was quasi-experimental, as due to the post-event nature of the research, it is not possible to control the variables completely. In this research, by studying the theoretical literature and past research, the variables and dimensions of the research were determined in three general dimensions: electoral attitude, being influenced by users, and electoral behavior the interpretation of which was considered in the generality of political participation in the rural areas of Malekan County. The results indicate that the most important criterion of electoral attitude and the least important criterion of electoral behavior play a role in explaining and predicting the dependent variable (political participation). The research highlights the importance of social networks in increasing their effects and improving political participation criteria in the rural areas studied
Keywords
Rural Areas
Social Networks
Political Participation
Malekan County
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