Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Spring 5-6-2026

Faculty Advisor(s)

Dr. Ann Gordon

Abstract

Civic engagement is not only characterized by voting, it can take the form of protesting for a political cause or donating to campaigns. Today, a highly common form of political involvement is posting online or signing online petitions, also referred to as “clicktivism.” In this paper, I intend to examine the extent to which voting in general presidential elections correlates with individual engagement in protests, donations to campaigns, or engages in “clicktivism”. Using the American National Election Survey which measures voting behaviors, political participation and public opinion, I find that the most consistent voters are clicktivists and campaign donors. Conversely, I find that the form of civic engagement with the lowest voter turnout is protesting, disproving my initial hypothesis. There is ongoing discussion surrounding the relevance of “social media politics” and if the way in which Americans engage politically online is effective in increasing political participation. The conclusions found in this paper provide evidence that clicktivism is an effective form of civic engagement in getting individuals to vote.

Comments

Presented at the Spring 2026 Student Scholar Symposium at Chapman University.

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