Impact of Facebook Usage on the Political Participation among Women in Pakistan

Social Media has become one of the effective forms of political communication in the contemporary age. Given this truism, this study intends to investigate the impact of Facebook usage on political participation among women in Pakistan. This study employed a crosssectional research design vis-à-vis survey method to find the relationship between Facebook usage and women’s political participation, using Pakistan as our focus. A sample of 563 females aged 18 to 60 was selected. The findings of the study indicated that online political participation influenced offline political involvement among Pakistani women. It was further found that the purpose of Facebook usage also correlated with online political participation. In addition, this study is of the view that online political participation influenced offline political participation. The study’s findings can encourage the female population to actively participate in the electoral process of the country - to improve voters’ turnout and make the electoral process more diverse and representative.