Includes CD

Includes references(162-172 p.)

'ABSTRACT As a result of technological advancements, new media tools emerged in the communication field almost every day. These media tools created new communication platforms that cause a change in the dimension, content, nature, methods and mediums. Social media, which is one of the communication platforms offered by the new communication technologies is started to be used actively in political communication. The use of social media in political communication has brought up the discussions about the topics like the relationship between political knowledge, political participation, democracy and social media as well as the political influence of social media on the citizens. The main aim of this thesis is to determine the place and importance of social media usage in political communication within the context of political knowledge, political participation, democracy and effecting voting decision. . Key Words: Political Communication, New Communication Technologies, Social Media, Democracy'

1 INTRODUCTION

5 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

5 THE CONCEPT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

7 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS

9 HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

16 ACTORS OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

18 TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN THE POLITICAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS

18 Media-Politics Relation

19 Liberal Approaches

22 Critical Approaches

27 Effects of Media on Public Opinion

28 Powerful Effect Era

29 Limited Effects of Period

31 Return to Powerful Effects Era

32 Agenda Setting Model

34 The Spiral of Silence Model

35 Information Gap Model

36 Dependency Model

37 The Uses and Satisfaction Theory

38 Conventional Mass Communication Tools Used for Political Communication

40 SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN ELEMENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

40 SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

46 SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

47 Blogs

48 Micro blogs

49 Wikkis

50 Social Networking Sites

51 Social Bookmarking Sites

51 Media Sharing Sites

52 Podcasts

52 Virtual Worlds

53 SOCIAL MEDIA AS ELEMENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

61 RESEARCH ON THE PLACE AND IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN POLITICAL COMMUNICATION: THE CASE OF TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS 2013 EARLY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

61 RESEARCH METHOD

61 The Purpose of the Research

61 Data Gathering Method and Tools

64 Research Population and Sample

65 Scope and Limitations of the Research

65 Data Collection Process

66 Hypotheses of the Research

67 Data Analysis

68 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

68 Demographic Information

68 Age Distribution of Voters in the study

69 Gender Distribution of Voters in the Study

69 Education Level of Voters in the Study

70 Monthly Household Income for Voters in the Study

71 Area of Residence for the Voters in the Study

71 Political Party Membership Status of the Voters in the Study

72 Voting Status of Voters in TRNC 2013 Early Parliamentary Elections

72 Social Media Usage Frequency of Vectors in TRNC

76 Frequency by which Voters Make Use of Social Media to Get Political Information

85 Frequency by which Voters Use Social Media to Get Political Information Based on their Demographics

86 Frequency by which Voters Use Social Media to Get Political Information Based on Age and Variance Between Groups

88 Frequency by which Voters Use Social Media to Get Political Information Based on Education Level and Variance Between Groups

89 Frequency by which Voters Use Social Media to Get Political Information Based on Gender and Variance Between Groups

90 Frequency by which Voters Use Social Media to Get Political Information Based on Monthly Household Income and Variance Between Groups

91 Frequency by which Voters Use Social Media to Get Political Information Based on Area of Residence and Variance Between Groups

92 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Type of Political Participation

93 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and Level of Participation in the Elections

94 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and level of Participation in Political Discussions

95 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the level of Influence on Others to Convince them to Vote for the Political Party Supported

97 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Level of Participation in the Campaign of the Party Supported

98 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Level of Taking Active Duty in the Campaign of the Party Supported

99 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Frequency by which Voters Communicate their Political Demands and Views via Social Media Tools

100 Frequency of Using Social Media Tools to Communicate Political Demands and Views

105 Relationship Between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political Information Communicate Their Political Demands and Views via Social Media Tools Based on Demographics

106 Frequency of Communicating Political Demands and Views via Social Media Based on Age and Variance Between Groups

106 Frequency of Communicating Political Demands and Views via Social Media Based on Education Level and Variance Between Groups

107 Frequency of Communicating Political Demands and Views via Social Media Based on Gender and Variance Between Groups

109 Frequency of Communicating Political Demands and Views via Social Media Based on Monthly Household Income and Variance Between Groups

110 Frequency of Communicating Political Demands and Views via Social Media Based on Area of Residence and Variance Between Groups

110 Relationship Between the Level of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Frequency of Communicating Political Demands and View via Social Media

112 Relationship Between the Level of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Frequency of Joining/Working in Political Activities Announce via Social Media

114 Relationship Between the Level of Using Social Media to Get Political Information and the Level by which Voting Decision are Influenced by Posts with Political Content Shared via Social Media

115 The level by which Voters that Use Traditional and Social Media to Get Political Information are Influence by Posts with Political Content Shared via Social Media

123 Level of influence of Posts with Political Content Shared on Social Media Tools on the Voting Decisions Based On Demographics and Variance Between Groups

124 Level of influence of Posts with Political Content Shared on Social Media Tools on the Voting Decisions Based On the Age and Variance Between Groups

128 Levels of Influence of Posts with Political Contents Shared on Social Media Tools on the Voting Decision Based on Education Level and Variance Between Groups

133 Level of Influence of Posts with Political Content Shared on Social Media Tools on the Voting Decision Based on Gender and Variance Between Groups

137 Level of Influence of Posts with Political Content Shared on Social Media Tools on the Voting Decision Based on Monthly Household Income and Variance Between Groups

142 Level of Influence of Posts with Political Content Shared on Social Media Tools on the Voting Decision Based on Area of Residence and Variance Between Groups

147 Relationship between the Frequency of Using Social Media to Get Political information and Level of Influence of Social Media Posts with Political Content on Voting Decisions

154 CONCLUSION

162 REFERENCES

172 APPENDIX

179 CURRICULUM VITAE