The Digital Public Square: Analyzing the Dimensions of Students’ Engagement in Online Political Debates

Abstract

The focus of this research is on the various ways college students in Santiago City, Isabela, Philippines engage with politics online through the “digital public square.” The study used descriptive-correlational research design and specifically examines four ways of engaging politically: latent engagement, follower engagement, expressive engagement, and counter-engagement. The results of the analysis find that latent engagement was the most common way that students participated in politics online since their average score was 2.76; this is compared to 1.64 for counter-engagement and 1.90 for follower engagement. There is a statistically significant positive relationship (r=.235) between latent engagement and expressive engagement, indicating that there is a link between the two types of engagement, and that passive consumption of information is a precursor to expressing oneself publicly. Additionally, there is an even stronger correlation (r=.636) between expressive and counter-engagement, indicating that when people are more vocal about their opinions, they tend to be more aggressive in their online behavior. The regression analysis indicated that active forms of engagement are the primary predictors of digital political followership, based on the R² value of =0.719. Therefore, while students are interested in staying informed about political issues, they often prefer to engage privately due to the negative environment created by highly polarized individuals in the digital public square.