UNPACKING THE DEBATE: WHAT YOUTUBE COMMENTS REVEAL ABOUT POLITICAL EQUALITY IN AMERICA

Sumrahadi, Abdullah; Gurning, Agriffina Evita Martha; Aryodiguno, Harryanto

doi:10.69648/OFBK2896

Abstract

Technological advancement and political engagement have positioned social media platforms as salient forces in the contemporary political sphere. Notably, YouTube has evolved into a prominent medium, surpassing conventional media constraints and redefining political information dissemination and reception modalities. This paper investigates YouTube’s function within the United States political context, scrutinizing its influence on public opinion formation, political discourse, and democratic mechanisms. Specifically, by analyzing audience sentiment expressed in comment sections of popular news and political channels addressing socio-economic equality within the United States, this study aims to delineate the factors that modulate audience engagement with political content. By elucidating these dynamic interactions, this investigation contributes to a refined comprehension of how digital platforms, such as YouTube, construct political narratives and facilitate democratic participation. The resultant findings offer critical insights for scholarly discourse concerning digital democracy, civic engagement, and the evolving paradigm of digital political communication.

Keywords

References

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[1] Alzubi, A. (2023). The evolving relationship between digital and conventional media: A study of media consumption habits in the digital era. The Progress: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 4 (3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.71016/tp/jjexez32

[2] Boulianne, S., Hoffmann, C. P., & Bossetta, M. (2024). Social media platforms for politics: A comparison of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Snapchat, and WhatsApp. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241262415

[3] Bowyer, B. T., Kahne, J. E., & Middaugh, E. (2017). Youth comprehension of political messages in YouTube videos. New Media & Society, 19 (4), 522–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815611593

[4] Claire, H., Vogel, C., & Laurent, D. (2016). Internet research methods. Sage.

[5] Donnellan, J., McDonald, M., & Edmondson, M. (2020). Impact of social media on consumer buying patterns. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 12 (3), 71. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v12n3p71

[6] Finlayson, A. (2022). YouTube and political ideologies: Technology, populism and rhetorical form. Political Studies, 70 (1), 62–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321720934630

[7] Fujiwara, T., Muller, K., & Schwarz, C. (2024). The effect of social media on elections: Evidence from the United States. Journal of the European Economic Association, 22 (3), 1495–1539. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvad058

[8] Gallarotti, G. M. (2015). Smart power: Definitions, importance, and effectiveness. Journal of Strategic Studies, 38 (3), 245–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2014.1002912

[9] Gray, C. S. (2011). Hard power and soft power: The utility of military force as an instrument of policy in the 21st century. US Army War College Press. https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/581 https://doi.org/10.21236/ada542526

[10] Hoferer, M., Bottcher, L., Herrmann, H. J., & Gersbach, H. (2020). The impact of technologies in political campaigns. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 538 , 122795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.122795

[11] Jin, D. Y. (2024). The rise of digital platforms as a soft power apparatus in the new Korean Wave era. Communication and the Public, 9 (2), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/20570473241234204

[12] Kaleem, M. (2023). The impact of the use of soft power in social media on public diplomacy for international co-existence. International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology, 10 (3), 372–388. https://doi.org/10.15379/ijmst.v10i3.1541

[13] Koechlin, E. (2018). LaChrystal D. Ricke, The impact of YouTube on U.S. politics . InMedia, 7 (1). https://doi.org/10.4000/inmedia.1328

[14] Kolotaev, Y., & Kollnig, K. (2021). Political influence of online platforms: YouTube’s place in European politics. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. International Relations, 14 (2), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu06.2021.206

[15] Kozinets, R. V. (2020). Netnography: The essential guide to qualitative social media research. Sage.

[16] Kozinets, R. V., & Gretzel, U. (2024). Netnography evolved: New contexts, scope, procedures, and sensibilities. Annals of Tourism Research, 104 , 103693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103693

[17] Luders, A., Dinkelberg, A., & Quayle, M. (2022). Becoming “us” in digital spaces: How online users creatively and strategically exploit social media affordances to build up social identity. Acta Psychologica, 228 , 103643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103643

[18] Mostafa, M. M., Feizollah, A., & Anuar, N. B. (2023). Fifteen years of YouTube scholarly research: Knowledge structure, collaborative networks, and trending topics. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 82 (8), 12423–12443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-13908-7

[19] Nassaji, H. (2020). Good qualitative research. Language Teaching Research, 24 (4), 427–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820941288

[20] Olaniran, B., & Williams, I. (2020). Social media effects: Hijacking democracy and civility in civic engagement. In Social Media: Communication, Sharing and Visibility in a Networked World (pp. 77–94). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36525-7_5

[21] Oloo, O. D. (2021). Exploring the social media culture of commenting: YouTube users’ sentiments of “misinformation” on international news media sphere. Social Communication, 22 (1), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.2478/sc-2021-0009

[22] Ricke, L. D. (2014). The impact of YouTube on U.S. politics. Lexington Books.

[23] Setiawan, H., Pawito, & Purwasito, A. (2020). YouTube social media trends reduce television watching interest. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Social and Political Sciences (ICOSAPS 2020) . https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201219.019

[24] Sui, W., Sui, A., & Rhodes, R. E. (2022). What to watch: Practical considerations and strategies for using YouTube for research. Digital Health, 8 , 205520762211237. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221123707

[25] Tarvin, E. (2021). From screen to shining screen: Representations of YouTube as a democratic platform for a community of authentic creators (Master’s thesis, University of Central Florida). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- , 771. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/771

[26] Thornton, S. (2009). Seven days in the art world. W. W. Norton & Company.

[27] Timcke, S. (2021). Algorithms and the end of politics: How technology shapes 21st-century American life. Bristol University Press.

[28] Viljoen, K. L. A. (2022). Netnography: An underapplied research method. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 25 (1). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v25i1.4891

[29] Vlahovic, A., Ercegovac, I., & Tankosic, M. (2023). Unraveling the narrative structures in YouTube vlogs: A qualitative content analysis. Media Studies and Applied Ethics, 4 (2), 25–42. https://doi.org/10.46630/msae.2.2023.03