Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type


Publication Date


Faculty Advisor(s)

Andrea Molle


The 21st century has been a century of many changes and technological advancements. Arguably the most important and influential technological advancement of this century has been the internet. With the internet came other branches of the internet such as social media that have now become extremely prominent in American daily life and culture. In the last few Presidential elections, candidates have used the internet and social media as an important part of their political campaigns.

This research project looks at the effects that social media and the internet has had on political participation during the most recent Presidential elections using the data found in the American National Election Study and in other surveys. This project not only looks whether or not it has had an impact but how it has impacted political participation during the elections and if the internet and social media has made people more educated and interested in politics. Although similar studies have been done on this topic, this one is different in that it looks at various areas of the effects of social media and internet on political participation instead of focusing on one sole area. This research project carries great importance in that the results show the increasing role that technology is playing on our society in even non-related areas such as politics.

