SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN AGENT OF POLITICAL RADICALIZATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN: A QUANTITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF DIGITAL EXPOSURE, POLITICAL ATTITUDES AND RADICALIZATIONTENDENCIES

Abstract

Social media has revolutionized political communication, making it possible to access information, political discussion and ideological communication in a very short time. These platforms can also promote political polarization and radicalization by exposure to extreme narratives and reinforcing online environments. The study explores how social media usage, exposure to radical content, and political attitudes contribute to political radicalization among university students in Pakistan, an analysis of the factors influencing political radicalization. The research design used was a quantitative cross sectional survey with 1000 university students, and the data were analyzed by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that social media exposure has an impact on political attitudes and radicalization tendencies, and political attitudes play an important role in the relationship between social media exposure and radicalization outcomes. The study highlights that social media is not a direct driver of radicalization, but rather can reinforce political dispositions that are already held, if repeatedly exposed to ideological material. It shows the need to be digitally literate and think critically to avoid being easily manipulated by harmful political influence.