Tweeting Politics － An exploratory study to examine the motivations for Twitter use among politically interested Internet users in South Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The aim of this exploratory study is to examine the political influences of Twitter during the local election held on June 2 2010 in South Korea. First, this study examined motivations for why politically interested Internet users were using Twitter during the election campaign based on the uses and gratification approach, and then explored what factors could predict the motivations for using Twitter. An online survey of 292 politically motivated Internet users in this study identified three primary reasons for accessing Twitter: political surveillance/information-seeking, convenience/entertainment, and social utility. Correlation analysis found a positive relationship between Twitter reliance and political behavior, and hierarchical regression revealed that both Twitter reliance and strength of party support were significant predictors of social utility motives for accessing Twitter, which may indicate the discursive nature of Twitter during the election campaign. The findings of this study show both the potentials and limitations of Twitter as a political communication tool. Based on those findings, discussion and direction for future research were followed.

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