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RESEARCH PRODUCT

How Social Media Affect Youth Civic Participation in China

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This study is focused on social media in China and its influence on youth civic participation. In China, a trend of increasing usage of social media platforms has been observed, in particularly WeChat, Weibo, QQ, Douyin, and Meitu. The aim of this research is to explore the link between the use of these social media platforms and civic participation among the youth in China, specifically, whether social media platforms have positive effect on encouragement of youth civic participation. The use of social media platforms is measured by the number of social media accounts, the duration of usage of these accounts, and the average time spending on social media accounts weekly, while civic participation through social media is to measure both civic participation activities and its link with the social media usage. KEYWORDS: social media, WeChat, youth, civic participation, China. JEL CODES: J68, L86. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v27i1.1866