Investigating the Impact of Telegram on Political Awareness of Shiraz Citizens

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

2 Graduate of Political Science, Payame Noor University.

Abstract

Political awareness is one of the topics discussed in political sociology and is an influential component in democratic societies. Therefore, recognizing the factors influencing the formation and expansion of citizens' political awareness of the necessities of democratic systems. Citizens' political awareness in the age of prevalence and domination of social networks are intertwined as means of information and awareness. In this study, the effect of using the Telegram social network, the most widely used and popular messenger in Iran, on the political awareness of Shiraz citizens has been investigated. This research is a survey and designed using a questionnaire with a sample size of 326 people, among the citizens of Shiraz in order to answer the question of what is the relationship between membership in the Telegram social network and political awareness among the citizens of Shiraz? Pearson correlation analysis and regression were used to test the hypotheses. The results obtained from the analysis of the questionnaire indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between the duration of use and activity of the Telegram user with political awareness. In fact, the time of use and activity of the user in Telegram has strengthened political awareness.

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