Year 9 - Citizenship
How can social media be used to increase political participation?
Can digital democracy increase political participation?
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
Pupils consider what a digital citizen is and how the digital world can be used to increase political engagement, examining cases of how digital democracy has worked across the globe.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to critically assess the use of social media to increase political participation.
Key Notes
- Social media increases political participation by enabling sharing, organising and raising awareness.
- The Black Lives Matter movement is an example of how social media can influence public debate and political action.
- Social media boosts political participation but its reliability is limited by issues e.g. misinformation & polarisation.
- Data misuse scandals show risks to privacy and trust, raising questions about social media's reliability.
Vocabulary To Learn
- political participation: the active involvement of citizens in the political process, such as voting in elections, engaging in debates, or joining political groups
- social media: websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Social media automatically leads to increased political participation because it reaches so many people.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Social media increases political participation by enabling sharing, organising and raising awareness. The Black Lives Matter movement is an example of how social media can influence public debate and political action.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'political participation'
the active involvement of citizens in the political process, such as voting in elections, engaging in debates, or joining political groups.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Social media automatically leads to increased political participation because it reaches so many people. Correction: Social media can engage many, but it doesn't ensure political participation. Misinformation, digital divides, echo chambers, and apathy can hinder impact. Success depends on content quality, usage, and users' critical thinking skills.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Can political engagement be increased using digital media? Study Guide
- Can voter engagement be improved through digital participation? Study Guide
- How well has digital democracy worked in other countries? Study Guide
- In person or online: How should MPs vote? Study Guide
- What is digital citizenship? Study Guide
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