DOES SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE INFLUENCE YOUTH’S INTEREST IN POLITICS?

Sa？etak The power and the influence of Internet and the emergence of new media has significantly changed the world together with people’s habits, behavior and communication. Over the years, social media have spread in most aspects of people’s lives, especially among young generations. The role of social media has been investigated in many areas and it has also become very popular in the area of politics. Socially desirable goal is to encourage and increase the level of political participation, especially among young people. Previous research has shown that one of the influential factors for political participation is interest in politics. The purpose of this research was to determine the role of social media in shaping young people’s interest in politics and political issues. The survey was conducted using online questionnaire among young people between the ages of 15 to 29. Results have shown that using Facebook for political discussions has a significant positive influence on young people’s interest in politics. Using Twitter, however, has shown not to have significant influence on political interest of young people