The Role of Social Media Platforms in Forming the Political Public Opinion of Yarmouk University Students

Social media platforms have had a profound impact on all spheres of our lives, which includes shaping our political views and standpoints. They have brought about dramatic changes in exchanging opinions and engaging routines, as well as in audience behaviour and analysis. The current study argues that there is a relationship between social media outlets and forming university students’ political public opinion. In this contxt, the media dependency theory has helped these online platforms fulfil its role effectively. By adopting a quantitative research methodology, (400) participants have been surveyed, which is a representative sample of the university students under investigation. The results reveal that individuals tend to rely more on social media outlets, especially Facebook and Twitter, to follow up on political issues. Most importantly, this study shows that social media platforms have strongly contributed in forming respondents’ political public opinion, which has been specifically beneficial in raising individuals’ political awareness. Ultimately, these online outlets represent an opportunity to rethink the meaning and practices of forming political views and shaping public opinion. They invite digital media researchers to pay more attention as well as explore new and innovative methods to help online users, especially university students, shaping their political opinion in the most beneficial way.