The Impact of Social Media on Political Communication in Ghana

Abstract

This long essay sought to uncover the impact of social media on political communication in Ghana. Social media has increasingly become an important aspect of our everyday lives and it is extremely important to consider the possible impact these tools could have on our political process, including the actions of the politicians. Building on existing literature evolving around social media and communication as well as the use of social media in a general election campaign, this long essay provided an insight to the subject. The research adopted a qualitative approach of which thirty respondents were targeted but only fifteen responded to partake in the interview. The study found that, through information on trending political issues on social media their knowledge to engage in political matters was influenced. Social media served as a channel between the citizens and the government and inform them on what is happening to be able to make decisions when it comes to politics. It served as a source of current affairs issue to focus on and research related stuff. The study found that through videos, hashtags, articles, pictures, posts and links, participants were informed about political matters via social media. Participants believed messages on social media influenced non-political actors and still remain relevant when election was over. The study was limited considering a Ghanaian population of close to thirty million people and using a participant size of fifteen cannot be used as basis for generalizations. Moreover, the views of gathered can be applied to a Ghanaian context and may not be applicable in another country or region