Graduation Semester and Year
2015
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Political Science
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Rebecca Deen
Abstract
This study examines the use of Facebook by members of Congress as a tool for reelection. Specifically, the study looks at the various types of posts congressional members use, such as campaign advertisements or policy positions, and looks for explanatory variables to explain the usage of the social media by members of Congress. To conduct this research the Facebook pages of a sample of Representatives and Senators were examined with a bivariate and multivariate analysis. Overall congressional members employed a distinct strategy in using their campaign pages. Senators up for reelection and in competitive races were more likely to use campaign and negative attack posting. Representatives in competitive races were more likely to make campaign posts but tended to avoid making negative posts about their opponents. Congressional members did not show any signs of using their government official page as a resource for reelection. This was expected, although some observed behavior shows congressional members’ knowledge over Facebook is incomplete. Only a few members used Facebook to promote fundraising or volunteer events such as phone banking and block walking. This suggests that while congressional members seek to capitalize on Facebook as a tool for reelection aims their knowledge of the social media is incomplete.
Keywords
Facebook, Social media, Campaigns, Elections, Congress
Disciplines
Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lothamer, Lucas J., "OVERCOMING THE LEARNING CURVE: THE USE OF FACEBOOK BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS" (2015). Political Science Theses. 11.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/politicalscience_theses/11
Comments
Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington