Facebook Use and Voting Behaviors of Selected Millennials During the 2019 Mid-Term Senatorial Election in Taguig City, Philippines

Abstract

This study determined the influence of Facebook use on the voting behavior of millennials in Taguig City, Philippines during the 2019 mid-term senatorial election. The Agenda Setting Theory guided the research. Data were gathered from April 9 to 26, 2019 among 100 millennials selected from the researcher’s Facebook contacts using a survey questionnaire (Google form) sent via Facebook Messenger.

The millennials agreed that social media ‘always’ serve as (in order): increase voting right awareness; create social consciousness; serve as a campaign platform; and promote public engagement. Specifically, they agreed that helped them understand the importance of voting power; raise voices against the misdeed of politicians; know their leaders’ activities and characteristics; create public opinion regarding the politician’s good activities; know the campaign commitment of evert candidate and engage the youth to participate in the election. For them, social media is ‘extremely important’ and ‘very important’ to politics and politicians.

However, they said that they were only influenced ‘sometime’ by Facebook regarding their views on the election and their choice of political leaders. And while the majority of them voted, they claimed that they relied ‘always’ on their own decision to vote and only ‘sometimes’ on the influence of social media, other media, and even on interpersonal sources such as family and friends. If the millennials did not read much information on Facebook about the last election campaign, this can be because voters usually keep the same opinion of a candidate or a political party over time and are not easily swayed by campaign rhetoric. This may be true for those who have had experience in voting such as the millennials in the study.