Social Media and Youth Political Participation in India: A Doctrinal Analysis of Democratic Engagement and Policy Responses

Suman Debbarma

Abstract: Social media is relatively new in the political communication and citizen involvement and mostly among the young citizens during the past years. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and other platforms, are gaining ground in this respect in the nation with one of the largest youth populations in the world, and hence, most countries, especially in India, are whatever they perceive as right and correct with social media influencing political awareness, discourse, and participation. This article is constructed as a doctrinal research study and aims at analysing the influence of social media on the political participation of the youth in India. It is based on the state regulations, laws, and theories to comprehend the dynamics involved in the involvement of young people in the digital era. The paper represents a theoretical investigation of the grounds of political participation and digital democracy as well as an evaluation of the linkage between youth-led digital activism and the principles of participatory governance. It looks critically at some of the policies that are vital i.e. National Youth Policy, the Digital India program and some of the legislations i.e. Information Technology Act and the Election Commission guidelines on online campaigning. The paper has brought out issues of the opportunities and limitations of social media which include some of the benefits like extension of political space and information penetration to such issues like misinformation, cyber-manipulation, and the digital divide.

Keywords: Youth political participation, social media, Digital democracy, National Youth Policy, Political communication, Digital activism, Electoral engagement