PANJIM: On the contrary to what is believed that social media play a major role in impacting the voters mind before going out to vote, many people in Goa believe that it is good for information but it cannot influence their decision of choosing their candidate.
Many political parties and leaders either hire ‘experts’ to run their social media platform in anticipation that they may be able to influence the voters before their go out to vote. However, it is only good for delivering of information.
Santosh Kenkre who votes in Taleigao constituency believes that social media has no impact whatsoever on voters. “Since I know exactly who to vote for social media plays no role in my decision making,” said Kenkre.
Ashutosh Kharangate a voter in Panjim is of the opinion that social media does not impact to a large extent. “There is too much chaos on social media. You clearly have a bias. We would see either a person supporting or being against a candidate. This leads to a lot of fabricated, unsubstantiated, trivial news. There is no matter which can be called as independent or just matter of fact. It is very judgemental. Hence, it did not impact my decision towards voting. I stuck to the more conventional methods like print media and personal interviews to form my opinion,” said Kharangate.
Deborah Angelina Johnstone who is also a voter in Panjim constituency believes that social media definitely plays a vital role in influencing citizens and has transformed the way in which voters access and receive political information. “But with my personal experience, when it comes to voting, it did not influence me. The field work, humbleness and the helpful nature of politicians I am aware of helped me choose the right candidate,” said Johnstone.
Swizel Quadros is a voter in Curchorem constituency is of the opinion that social media has a sizeable impact in shaping the public’s political knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. “However, for me social media did not play a huge part in influencing my voting decision as I was well aware about the background of various political parties which helped me vote for the deserving candidate,” said Quadros.
Aryavrat Malhotra from Cortalim constituency said, “If you are talking about factual information related to politics on social media then yes but if you are referring to opinions of other people’s on candidates and parties then no. I believe in forming my own opinion and following it rather than applying someone else’s on mine and then basing my decisions on said opinions.”
Zainab Quadri for Margao constituency said, “I do not think I was influenced or there was any sort of impact on my decision. There is no doubt in the fact that I did check out different politician accounts on Social media and their respective party pages too but only for being informed.”
She further added, “Instead of relying on social media I believed in fact checking through authentic sources such as news portals etc; regarding different parties and their contribution towards the state of Goa. Since it was my first vote I wanted to ensure I fulfill my duty of being a responsible citizen by casting a vote to the right candidate.”
