Why is Twitter the most political-prone social network?

Repeatedly, Twitter is linked to politics. To common understanding, this is the social network most used in this regard. But, can we state so?

Since Twitter emergence in 2006, this microblogging platform turned in time in a digital space ideal for politics. Although other social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, or Tik Tok are being increasingly used in politics, Twitter is still leading that race.

A research conducted by the company itself —with the purpose to identifying its own strengths as a platform for political information and prove its value to the public—, showed that this social network is more effective in the use of politics.

If we take a look to the results of the inquiry, 64 % of people use Twitter at least once a week to learn about political issues. “It is the best place to get real-time information on any developing news,” according to the inquiry, released in 2019.

Likewise, 70 % of Spanish people surveyed admitted that Twitter allow them to know firsthand, before any other media, decisions or statements from politicians. This social network is renowned by offering the possibility to follow with immediacy major political events.

Nicolas Freire Castello, PhD in Latin American Studies at the University of Santiago de Chile, came to the same conclusion. In his view, Twitter has features that, unlike other social networks, grant it to build a digital and political space.

In a paper entitled Why is Twitter the digital political territory, the Chilean academic affirms that the interactive potential of the platform encourages the widespread growth of deliberation and the exercise of opinion.

Besides, Twitter makes it possible to collect information that can eventually be incorporated into the decision-making process, similar to how polls operate in the traditional political arena.

Its interface, simple and easy, is another advantage for older political actors not used to handling digital technologies. Finally, its obligatory brevity is convenient for Political Communication, a field in which short messages come to have unusual impacts.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff