Freedom of expression through social media and the political participation of young voters: A case study of elections in Jakarta, Indonesia

Freedom of expression in social media with ease to express an opinion, comment, be a friend, a follower of the candidate, as well as easy to share links and to post ‘like’, encouraging young voters to participate in the election and influencing their decision to vote. Young people are often considered as a group that does not matter even tend apathetic towards politics because they think their voices will not be heard by the authorities. However, advances in technology have removed this presumption by breaking down barriers to freedom of expression. The survey conducted on 385 university students in Jakarta and the Jakarta gubernatorial elections in 2012 and 2017 to a research context. Freedom to obtain information that is not limited and interaction in social media also encourage young voters to participate in elections.