Twitter has launched today a social initiative called #PowerOf18 aimed at encouraging the youth of India to contribute to public debate and participate in civic engagement in the upcoming election season.
The initiative was launched by Jack Dorsey, CEO & Co-Founder, Twitter and Maya Hari, Vice-President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Twitter in a Townhall chat with the students of IIT Delhi today. The campaign launch is marked by an emoji activated by the #PowerOf18 hashtag.
Twitter conducted a research with over 3,600 respondents aged 18 - 30 year olds, comprising Twitter and non-Twitter users, focussing on people’s attitude in India in shaping the political and social environment. The survey found an overwhelming 94 per cent of respondents indicating that they would vote in the upcoming elections.
Eighty-seven per cent of Indians surveyed believe that voting makes them a responsible citizen and more than half (53 per cent) are voting because they want to make a difference.
The study also pointed towards the rising importance of social media for information consumption. Fifty-seven per cent of youth surveyed would turn to social media to find out what’s happening in India and around the world, a percentage higher than all other mediums including newspapers.
Sixty-nine per cent of Twitter users surveyed always stay up to date with political news and events versus 44 per cent of non-Twitter users. Additionally, the survey found Twitter users more engaged in civic discussion versus non-Twitter users.
Fifty-nine per cent of Twitter users actively engage with and raise concerns to the government on issues that affect them or their community versus 37 per cent of non-Twitter users. Two in three Indian Twitter users believe that they are contributing to the public debate by posting on Twitter.
In relation, Twitter India aims to encourage the youth of India with #PowerOf18 to leverage the platform for public conversation and vote for the future they seek. As part of the initiative, Twitter is kickstarting the initiative with an online video series on @TwitterIndia featuring young personalities across India such as Indian singer Jassie Gill (@JassieGill), Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen (@Nikhat_Zareen), writer, poet and #MeTooIndia voice Mahima Kukreja (@AGirlOfHerWords), sharing about their inspirations and their view of #PowerOf18. Twitter seeks to work with more like-minded partners and personalities to create awareness of the importance of voting.
