Weekly Chart: Social Media and Political Participation in Latin America
Weekly Chart: Social Media and Political Participation in Latin America
Do Latin Americans see social networks as a tool for political empowerment?
From pot-banging protests in Brazil to twitterstorms against Guatemalan presidential candidates, Latin Americans are taking to social media to unite for or against political causes like never before. From April 2014 to April 2015, Twitter use in the region rose 351 percent and for Facebook, 1,810 percent, according to comScore. That’s not to say Latin Americans generally consider social media a type of political participation. In fact, they are more likely to think social networks create an “illusion” of participation rather than being an actual form of it.
AS/COA Online takes a look at a 2015 Latinobarómetro report, what it says about the most popular platforms, and whether they serve as political empowerment tools.
