From Street Protests to Facebook Campaigns

Abstract

This study examines effects of political cynicism and efficacy on online political engagement of Sri Lankan undergraduates. A survey was conducted among 155 Sri Lankan undergraduates that support the views of the Inter-University Student Federation (IUSF), an evidently anti-government student movement that claims to be dedicated to protecting free education in the country. Initial analysis showed that respondents were highly cynical (mean: 4.49 on a 1 to 5 scale). The study hypothesized that both political cynicism and efficacy exert a positive impact on online political engagement of respondents. The study also tested the effects of two moderators (extent of Facebook use, and the year of study). Results showed that political cynicism exerts a positive impact (standardized coefficient:.274, p:.000) on online political engagement, and this effect is positively moderated by the extent of Facebook use (standardized coefficient:.261, p:.000). Results also showed that internal political efficacy is not a significant predictor of the dependent variable.