SOCIAL MEDIA, POLITICAL POLARIZATION, AND ELECTORAL BEHAVIOUR: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES

Abstract

The rapid expansion of social media platforms has transformed political communication, reshaping how citizens access information, engage in political discourse, and participate in democratic processes. While these platforms facilitate political awareness and civic engagement, they have also intensified ideological divisions through selective exposure, echo chambers, algorithm-driven content personalization, and the widespread dissemination of misinformation. This study empirically investigates the relationship between social media usage, political polarization, and electoral behaviour across democratic societies. Drawing upon established theories of political communication, selective exposure, and social influence, the research examines how online political interactions influence voter attitudes, political trust, partisan identity, and voting decisions. A structured survey-based quantitative approach is proposed, employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the causal relationships among social media engagement, perceived political polarization, political efficacy, and electoral behaviour. The findings are expected to demonstrate that increased exposure to politically homogeneous content significantly strengthens ideological polarization, which subsequently influences electoral participation and voting preferences. The study contributes to political science by providing empirical evidence on the role of digital communication ecosystems in contemporary democracies and offers policy recommendations for promoting healthier online political discourse and informed electoral participation.