Social Media Use and Youth Political Activism in Post-2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: The Mediating Role of Political Efficacy

Abstract

University students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KP) were among the most visible participants in the digital politics surrounding Pakistan’s 2024 general election. However, high levels of online political activity do not obviously translate into offline participation such as voting, attending rallies, or contacting representatives. This study addresses the question of whether political efficacy accounts for that translation. Based on the orientation–stimulus–orientation–response (O-S-O-R) communication mediation model and political efficacy theory, this study tests a mediation model that explains how social media use for political purposes drives offline political activism through political efficacy. The primary data were gathered from 400 university students across KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA using a structured questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale, along with well-established multi-item scales to measure social media use, political efficacy, and offline activism (Cronbach’s α = 0.80, 0.81, and 0.79, respectively). SPSS and Hayes’ PROCESS macro Model 4 (using 5,000 bootstrap samples) were used for analysis. Social media use was moderate (M = 3.10), political efficacy was moderate (M = 3.00), and offline activism was relatively low (M = 2.05). The use of social media was a significant predictor of efficacy (β = 0.478) and offline activism (total effect β = 0.363). The relationship was partially mediated, with an indirect effect of 0.113 (95% bootstrap CI [0.066, 0.165]) accounting for about 36% of the total effect, via political efficacy. The findings position efficacy as a partial bridge between digital exposure and offline action, while results that diverge from earlier Pakistani studies are addressed directly rather than reconciled away.