ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

Abstract

Purpose: Globally, effective political engagement requires candid communication between the government and its citizens. More so, citizens have the right to express how they need to be governed. On government’s part, the need to develop trust among the public should be paramount. Government should always inform citizens what it is continually doing. Furthermore, public domains ought to reflect integrity and transparency. Such is achievable through communication on many of its activities. In the recent past, government utilized traditional media to convey information to the public. Popular avenues used included television, newspapers and radio. The general objective of the study was to establish the role of social media on community mobilization Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Findings: The study found out that the adoption of social media as a means of communication between the government official’s community members has an enormous impact on community mobilization for security matters and other issues. Social media platforms have enabled quick sharing of information on Barraza. The social media platforms enable this community mobilization in a cost-efficient manner Although social media use offers enormous value in public relations, there is little evidence that social networking sites are used to inform and involve governmental public opinion agencies such as the public sector. Recommendations: The study recommends that public administrators to embrace social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp due to their responsiveness and lower costs in interacting with the public administrators and amongst themselves. The respective government agencies should create awareness among the public on the importance of using digital platforms to pass or receive information on security issues