A social media revolution or just a case of history repeating itself? The use of social media in the 2011 Finnish parliamentary elections

Abstract

This article analyses the use of social media by both candidates and citizens in the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election campaign. Utilizing data on the candidates’ use of various social media sites, survey data from the 2011 Finnish election study, and survey data from a Finnish panel, the analyses reveal that the significance of social media was generally modest in the election campaign. The findings show that although candidates did use social media extensively, the on-line electoral patterns were found to be mostly normalized. The citizens’ use of social media in the campaign was also very low and its impact on their voting decision even smaller. However, the irrelevance of political interest in explaining extensive social media use, found in the analyses, break established patterns explaining political participation.