Cognitive engagement and online political participation on Facebook and Twitter among youths in Nigeria and Malaysia

The role of social media in online political participation cannot be understated. Yet, limited research has been conducted in this area. Thus, this study aims to investigate this phenomenon in comparative terms from the cognitive engagement perspective. This study adopts the Cognitive Engagement Theory (CET) to examine the
relationship between Access to Political Information on Facebook and Twitter (APIFT), Political Interest (PI) and Policy Satisfaction (PS) and Online Political Participation of youth via Facebook and Twitter (OPPFT) in Nigeria and Malaysia combined, and each country individually. This study also analyses the moderating role of Political Knowledge (PK) in this relationship. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 476 undergraduate students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Universiti Utara Malaysia. A questionnaire was used to collect data which was
analysed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Partial Least Squares-MultiGroup Analysis (PLS-MGA). Results reveal that APIFT, PI and PS lead to OPPFT among the youth in Nigeria and Malaysia, except the
relationship between PS and OPPFT for Malaysian youth. Also, PK moderates the relationship between APIFT and OPPFT for the combined youth as well as Malaysian youth, but not for Nigerian youth. Furthermore, in the relationship between PI and
OPPFT, PK does not moderate the relationship for the combined youth and Nigerian youth, but it does for the Malaysian youth. Additionally, PK is found not to moderate the relationship between PS and OPPFT for the combined youth and Malaysian youth
but it does for Nigerian youth. Furthermore, for country differences in terms of direct relationships, there is no significant difference between Nigerian and Malaysian youth in terms of the relationship between APIFT and OPPFT, but there is a significant difference in the relationship between PI and PS with OPPFT. Generally, these
findings suggest that from a social media angle, access to political information, PI, PK and PS are likely to reduce the gap in political participation among the youth in Nigeria and Malaysia. Consequently, this study contributes in the modelling of the relationship between CET and political participation. Thus, empirical findings of this study add to the body of knowledge on online political participation.