Exploring the Role of Political Memes in Shaping Youngsters’ Perception in Twin Cities of Pakistan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse the role of political memes in shaping perception of youngsters in twin cities of Pakistan. The research paper deeply focused on impact of political memes on thoughts and beliefs of individuals, the way these memes changed youngsters’ behaviour and social perception. To achieve the objectives, researchers followed quantitative methodology and conducted survey in twin cities of Pakistan. For the data collection, self-designed questionnaire was used consisted of three main segments including respondents’ information, social media use and political memes. Purposive sampling technique was adopted, and data was collected from (n=240) youngsters living in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Results revealed that a youngsters’ perception is highly influenced by political memes. Their cognitions, behaviour and social norms are highly affected after consuming political memes on social media. The study concluded that political memes had great role in shaping youngster’s certain attitudes and this leads the individuals to take part in politics actively and enhance their political participation.

Keywords: Political Memes, Youngsters, Cognitive perception, Behavioural perception, social perception