A research on the role of empathy on political participation in the context of social media

This research was carried out to examine the relationship of empathy on political participation in social media. The study model is built on the relational scanning model, which is also an extension of the general scanning model. The universe of work in the research constitutes the electorate in the Uşak province. The sample of the study is made up of 431 individuals selected from the universe of the relevant research by easy sampling method considering the reasons such as transportation, time and budget convenience. The data were collected by means of the personal information form (KBF) through the empathy (EB) Scale and Social Media Political Participation (SMSK), and were tested using the SPSS 24.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Statistical Program. It was determined that the research data showed normal distribution. Accordingly, while Pearson Correlation and Regression Analysis analysis was conducted in order to examine the relationship of the research to the dimensions of the research, the differentiation states of the relevant dimensions for the demographic factors were examined with the ANOVA test and the Independent sample T test. On the other hand, descriptive statistics were obtained by using Frequency Analysis method. According to the findings obtained as a result of the study, negative and positive significant relationships were found between voters' EB status and SMSK status. According to the related results, while a significant negative relationship was found between EB and SMSK and between cognitive empathy, perceptual empathy and political discourse variables, positive correlations were found between perceptual empathy and affective empathy and political follow-up.