Social network matters: The influence of online social capital on youth political participation in Pakistan

There is global concern over the continuing decline in political participation, especially among young people. Social capital or networks of relations among people have been found to be important in the revival of political participation. While research has established the profound effects of online social capital on politics, we know much less about its role in fostering political participation in new democracies. In this study, we tested the influence of online social capital on communication mediation processes to understand political participation in Pakistan. A survey was conducted of 864 respondents, recruited using a multistage cluster sampling, and the survey data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Our findings suggest that extensive online networks result in less participation in online political activities, whereas no effect was found on youth political behavior in the real setting. We also found that social capital does not motivate people to express their opinions in the online environment. These results suggest that the political consequences of online social capital are different in a less democratic setting from in a Western-democratic context. There may be less political trust in the former, which discourages people from participating in politics. This paper discusses some of the theoretical and managerial implications of the study.