INTERNET MEMES AND THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF MILLENIAL BARANGAY OFFICIALS IN GENERAL SANTOS CITY

In our modern media environment characterized by participatory media culture, political internet memes have become a tool for citizens seeking to participate actively and discursively in a digital public sphere. The aim of this paper is to know the type of internet political meme users the millennial barangay officials in General Santos City are, the kind of political activities the internet political memes are used for and how these internet memes influence the platforms. political participation of the millennials who are the most active users of digital

With the application of quantitative-qualitative research design, this study employed Key Informant Interview (KII), Survey Questionnaire, and Snowball Sampling. Four (4) Sangguniang Kabataan Chairpersons from different barangays were interviewed and eleven (11) millennial barangay officials had participated in the survey.

The study found out that the millennial barangay officials in General Santos City are meme creators, viewers and sharers. They also use social media platforms for their political activities, in encouraging community members to engage or take action in pressing political issues, in molding the opinion of the public and in expressing their political views on current issues in the society. The study has proved that internet memes affected the political and civic participation of the millennials.