How University Students Evaluate the Role of Social Media in Political Polarization: Perspectives of a Sample of Turkish Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Abstract

This study aimed to find out if there is a relationship between social media and political polarization in Türkiye from the perspective of Turkish students. To reach this aim, the needed data were collected through qualitative and quantitative approaches. A total of 303 valid questionnaires were analyzed. The sample consisted of university Turkish students across undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels in Türkiye aged between 18 and 50+. As well, an online focus group discussion with six Turkish students from different universities and education levels was conducted to gain a more in-depth understanding of the study’s problem. The results of the study showed that the perspectives of the Turkish students were that social media had a weak-to-moderate effect on political polarization in Türkiye. Furthermore, the results indicated that the studied sample of the Turkish students does not rely on social media platforms to obtain political news, and most of them do not follow political leaders on social media. Moreover, communication platforms did not encourage many Turkish students to express themselves, which is an indication that social media algorithms have contributed to a medium degree in creating filter bubbles through the content they suggest to users. Results have also shown that Turkish students are afraid that their posts and comments are being censored.