Political consciousness political discourse and internet usage.

• Main Authors: Lim, Nona Yean Hong., Tan, Christine Seok Hong.
• Other Authors: Choi Siu Kay, Alfred
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Mass media
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14813
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study aims to study the tripartite relationsh-9 between political consciousness, internet usage and political discourse. Its main proposition is that the use of the internet may not correlate with an increase in political discourse. Instead, the political consciousness of the individual will be the driving factor behind political discourse. As such, this study postulates the following: that the amount of time spent on the internet will have no impact on political discourse; that an increase in the level of political consciousness may not correlate with an increase in the amount of time spent on the internet; that those who have high levels of political consciousness will have high level of political discourse; that the higher the level of political consciousness, the more likely the user is to use the internet for expressing opinions on national issues; and that those who use the internet for expression of opinions on national issues are likely to be more actively engaged in political discourse. A survey of Nanyang Technological University undergraduates is carried out, with a sample of 459 including foreign students. The analysis is carried out on 351 Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Resident respondents including 205 men and 146 women. Bivariate analysis such as t-tests and crosstabulations, and multivariate analysis using three-way crosstabulations is carried out. The results show that the hypotheses are supported. However, an interaction model emerges from the study showing the dynamic relationship among the three variables.