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Petek Akman Özdemir
& Gil de Zúñiga, 2010; Shah, Kwak & Holbert, 2001; Skoric & Poor, 2013). These effects of
the Internet are not observed in this study. Besides, in terms of civic engagement no signifi-
cant difference was found between “television group” or “the Internet group” and those who
were not interested in news. This finding leads to questioning the positive effects of internet
on political socialization.
Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that following news and social media use for po-
litical communication positively predicted civic engagement after controlling for socio-de-
mographic variables. This finding supports the argument which states that the purpose of
media use determines whether mass media will have positive or negative effects on political
socialization (Norris, 1996; Shah, McLeod & Yoon, 2001). Not recreational use of media (Put-
nam, 1995; 2000) but informative use of media (Boulianne, 2009; Delli Carpini, 2000; Shah,
Kwak & Holbert, 2001; Shah et al., 2005) was found be positively related to political interest
and civic engagement. Following news helps young people acquire knowledge on political
and social matters (Klofstad, 2007), engenders more political communication with family
and friends (McDevitt & Chaffee, 2002) and leads to thinking more about social problems
(Klofstad, 2007) and ways of solving them.
The finding that use of social media for political communication contributed to civic engage-
ment was consistent with the findings of previous studies (örn., Erentaite, Žukauskienė, Bey-
ers & Pilkauskaitė-Valickienė, 2012; Shah et al., 2005). Political communication allows young
people learn social values, civic engagement opportunities and social problems (Klofstad,
2007). Besides, political communication leads to an increase in political interest (Andolina et
al., 2003) and contributes to development of cognitive, social (Shah et al., 2009) and com-
munication (Kirlin, 2003) skills used in civic engagement.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The most important finding of the study is that the influence of reading newspapers on civic
engagement is stronger than the effects of television and the Internet. Another important
result is that following news and using social media to express opinions contribute to civic
engagement. These results underline the significant role of mass media in political socializa-
tion in youth. However, the positive effects of mass media are found to be dependent on the
type of mass media and purposes of media use. The results are believed to contribute to the
better understanding of political socialization of Turkish youth with regard to the relationship
between mass media use and civic engagement. In this domain, the role of different social,
political and psychological variables in political socialization in youth should be examined in
more detail by also taking political and cultural changes into account.
Kaynakça/References
• Andolina, M. W., Jenkins, K., Zukin, C., & Keeter, S. (2003). Habits from home, lessons from school: Influenc-
es on youth civic engagement. PS: Political Science and Politics, 36(2), 275-280.
• Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.
American Psychologist, 55 (5), 469-480.
• Atkin, C. K., & Gantz, W. (1978). Television news and political socialization. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 42
(2), 183–198.
