Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

Social media is considered one of the main sources of knowledge for Egyptian youth. It is also one of the most important factors influencing the formation of their attitudes towards the political process and political actors as well as their perception to be decision makers. Facebook provides users with the opportunity to express their opinions freely and share these views among users, thereby stimulating political deliberation among citizens on public affairs, as well as providing an opportunity for communication with all political parties. Political efficacy is an important variable in stimulating the political behavior of citizens, and a major indicator of the level of political participation, where the concept of political efficacy is linked to active and positive citizenship. This study explores the relationship between the exposure to news content in Facebook among Egyptian youth and their level of internal political efficacy and tests the variables and factors influencing this relationship, namely, political interest, political trust, political relations with others through social networking sites; communication with officials and politicians through social networking sites; and demographic factors. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the theory of virtuous circle .