• Ishani Sen
• Dr. Sumedh Anil Lokhande

With the fast growth of social media, political communication and democracy in India has been changed substantially and especially among the young. This paper will discuss how social media is affecting the perceptions of youth in Indian democracy with particular consideration given to meme culture, algorithmic amplification of political content, misinformation, fact-checking systems, and regulatory and institutional interventions. The study is descriptive and analytical in nature and relies on primary data which was gathered using a structured questionnaire given to 200 Indian youth between 18-35 years using online questionnaires. Due to the simplicity of statistical parameters, parameters like percentages, measures of central tendency, dispersion, and graphical representation are used to analyze the data with the help of Microsoft Excel. The results indicate that social media is a hegemonous platform of political information among young people and a huge proportion of them use social platforms on a daily basis. The widely held notion about the use of meme culture is that it helps to communicate and convey the complex political issues in a simple manner and thus increase awareness and political participation. Nonetheless, the selective exposure and political polarization based on the amplification of political content through algorithms supports the formation of pre-existing opinions. Exposure to political misinformation is also a high point in the research and this influences the credibility of information and democratic trust among young people in the study. Although there are moderately high levels of awareness regarding fact-checking mechanisms and support of regulatory oversight, there still exist gaps in effective use and trust of people. The research comes up with the conclusion that social media has a twofold impact on Indian democracy as it generates political awareness and fuels polarization and distrust at the same time. It highlights that more people should be digitally literate, platform governance should be clear, and regulations should be balanced to ensure the social media positively benefits the practice of democracy and well-informed citizenship among the Indian youth.

Social Media, Youth, Indian Democracy, Meme Culture, Political Perception, Algorithmic Amplification, Misinformation, Fact-Checking, Digital Governance

"Social Media Influence on Youth Perceptions in Indian Democracy", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 3, page no.a38-a47, March-2026, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2603007.pdf

"Social Media Influence on Youth Perceptions in Indian Democracy", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 3, page no. ppa38-a47, March-2026, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2603007.pdf