Shaping The Youth Vote: The Influence of Microtargeting and Personalized Ads In India’s 2024 Digital Election Campaigns
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Abstract
Digital election campaigns emerged as a dominant tool for reaching voters in the 2024 Indian General Elections. This marked a significant shift in political campaigning, as both the major parties of India, such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC), spent crores on digital campaigns. The BJP spent more than three times as much as its rival, the INC, on digital campaigns to ensure visibility and reach out to voters. Based on this observation, this study examines whether digital campaigns, particularly those involving microtargeting and personalized content, have a significant impact on voting behavior, candidate perception, voting decision, and political engagement among young voters in India.
To this end, 300 students between the ages of 18 and 25 were selected through stratified sampling to participate in a quantitative survey. The questionnaire was designed to identify whether digital campaign strategies, such as microtargeting and personalized ads, influenced voters' behavior and decisions, as well as shaping their perception of the candidates. The analysis of the responses indicates a positive correlation between exposure to digital campaigns and voting behavior among the study participants. The responses also reveal a correlation between personalized ads and political perceptions, candidate preferences, and the likelihood of voting.
While digital campaigns increase political participation, awareness, and influence voting behavior, there are also ethical concerns, such as data privacy and voter manipulation, that this paper highlights. The findings underscore the need for more transparent, regulated digital political practices to safeguard democratic integrity in India’s evolving electoral landscape.
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