Social media sites have become widely used and are a relatively new form of communication, with uses that are new to many. Use of social media by the public is increasing and reports show that the public has been engaging with each other on political topics; but it is hard to determine if they have been engaging with politicians, and if politicians are engaging with them. Studies have looked at the views and uses of social media by staff members of politicians and their use in campaigns, but few studies have looked at how the elected officials are using social media, particularly in terms of engaging with constituents, and policy decision making. The majority of attention to political use of social media is also focused on the national levels not state or local politics. Studies also have not focused on specific industries and social media use in politics, particularly the agriculture industry.
For Ohio agriculture, a study was needed to examine how Ohio politicians are using social media, and if they are using social media when making policy decisions related to agriculture. This information can help the public to better understand how to engage their elected officials using social media.
The purpose of this study was to examine how Ohio House of Representatives and Senate members are using social media, and how they are using it as it relates to agriculture and agricultural policy decision making. Grounded in ideas from media richness theory, social presence theory, groundswell, and other studies of political use of social media, this study aims to meet the following research objectives: Describe the use of social media, compare the agriculture background to their use of social media, describe social media connections to agricultural organizations in Ohio, describe social media effects on agriculture policy decision making of Ohio House of Representatives and Senate members.
This study collected data from eight qualitative interviews, six with Ohio Representatives and two with Ohio Senators selected through random sampling of the entire population of Ohio Representatives and Senators. Interviews were conducted both in-person and by phone, depending on the preference and availability of the participant. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed using open coding, themes were found, and reported.
This study found that most Representatives and Senators are using social media, but that they are still developing that use, and still deciding the value of conversations held through social media. It would seem that social media is not impacting policy voting on agricultural issues much at this time, but with some relationship building and continued engagement by individuals, social media could become the next email in terms of elected officials’ communication with constituents.