Audrey Ryan

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Reilly, Jack

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

Celebrity politics has been the subject of political research throughout history, and has been particularly focused on the implications new media, such as television, had for celebrity politics in America. Celebrity politics encompasses many actors, both politicians and celebrities themselves. As media and technology have advanced in the past century the world of celebrity and politics have become more and more interconnected. And in the past decade social media has made the lines between these two worlds even more blurred. Celebrities have larger platforms and more power than ever before to voice their opinions and people, particularly young adults, have twentyfour hour access to what their favorite celebrities have to say. This thesis adds to the body of literature on celebrity politics by zooming in on the relationship between social media, celebrity political endorsements, and young people in America today. In this thesis a survey, with an embedded experiment, of 242 college students age 18-26 is used to assess the impact that celebrity political endorsements on social media have on young people’s relationship to politics and beliefs about political issues. Additionally, the study gives evidence that on their smartphones young people primarily stay updated on politics through social media apps, specifically Twitter. The results of this study also suggest that young people navigate social media apps in political ways and exhibit political behaviors on social media.

Download

Share

COinS