Internet Memes As Political Communication Tool: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Memes represent the dominant concept of online participation in the current digitally expedited world. They condense complex facts and communicate the message in a succinct manner. They are now playing an important role in online political debates, cultivating netizens to be politically active and well-informed. In Pakistan, the use of memes has become one of the top trends in terms of online communication. However, the impact they could bring on politics is a neglected concept in Pakistan. This research intends to investigate the effects of exposure to political memes on creating political awareness, online political participation, and political segregation among people. A survey has been conducted to meet the purpose of the study. Therefore, a sample of 176 participants from all across Pakistan was selected using the simple random method technique of sampling. All the participants were reached via an online questionnaire to assess the effects of political memes on the audience. Cronbach’s alpha test was used to ensure the reliability of the research tool, and correlation analysis was used for statistical interpretations. Based on the theoretical realms of the Elaboration likelihood model and Hall's Encoding and Decoding model, this research concludes that political memes on the internet help netizens understand political issues and make them aware of the current political situation; they also participate in online debates, politically engaging them; but memes have little influence to direct their political decisions.

Keywords: Internet memes, Political Memes, Political Awareness, Political Participation, Political Communication