The Rôle of Social Media in the Political Participation of Overseas Filipino Workers in Dubai, U.A.E. in the 2016 Election
VIRGIE LEAH B. NEMIS
Faculty of Information and Communication Studies University of the Philippines
OPEN UNIVERSITY Collège, Laguna
Philippines
2017
© 2017 By Virgle Leah B. Nemis
This thesis titled The Rôle of Social Media in the Political Participation of OFWs in
Dubai.U.A.E. in the 2016 Election is hereby accepted by the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies, U.P. Open University, in partial fulfillment of the requlrements for the degree Master of Development Communication.
Members of the Académie Advisory Committee:
APROF. BEnJ M\yil^A CL^LOR./dhair, Advisory Committee pA D? 7
(Signature over prlnted name) (Date)
1LU- jDA BANDALARIA, Member, Advisory Committee
PROF. MEÙ
(Signature over prlnted name)
PROF. A-EXANDER G. FLOR, Member, Advisory Committee (Signature over printed name)
!0 8 0^ 1 7
(Date)
;0 8 02 l 'f
(Date)
PROF. ALEXANDER G. FLOR. Dean,
(Signature over printed name) Faculty of Information and
Communication Studies
108 02 1 7
(Date)
III
ABSTRACT
Seventy-four active members of the Philippine Institute cf Civil Engineers
(PIGE) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates were surveyed to détermine the rôle of social média in their political participation in the 2016 élection.
Based on the Agenda Setting Theory, this study provided a descriptive analysis of how the respondents utilized social média particularly Facebook. Four rôles were identified: (1) Connecter- it connected the OFWs back home, (2)
Catalyzer- it served as a channel for the respondents to express and discuss their political views, (3) Mediator- it aiso enabled two-way communication between the OFWs and différent parties, and (4) Information provider- it played a rôle in getting information about the processes and mechanics of Overseas Absentee Voting.
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