Pure Telecom research reveals 30% of adults in Ireland say social media has made them more engaged in politics

Pure Telecom, the Irish-owned telecoms provider, has announced new research exploring the relationship between social media and political engagement in Ireland. The data shows that 30% of adultsin Ireland believe social media has made them more engaged in politics, rising to 45% among those aged 18 to 24.

Pure Telecom’s Connected Lives 2026 survey was conducted by Censuswide among 1,000 adults in Ireland. While for many, it inspires greater political engagement, 19% of respondents admitted that social media has made them less interested in politics and social issues.

Some 28% of adults who have used social media say they have been motivated to educate themselves further on a political or social issue because of something they have seen on social media, while 18% have been inspired to join a protest in the last 12 months – 23% of men and 14% of women. Just over one-in-five (22%) say it motivated them to vote, and the same proportion say it motivated them to register to vote. A quarter (25%) have donated to a charity.

The research delves further into the effect of social media, finding that more than a quarter (26%) of adults believe their views on political and social issues are influenced by what friends or people they follow post about. This rises to 46% among 18- to 24-year-olds. Of the total adult population, 46% said they are not influenced by the political content in their social media feeds.

As the most likely age group to be influenced by political social media posts, young adults are also the most likely to express concern about the level of influence that social media has on people’s political opinions. Some 58% of 18- to24-year-olds believe social media has too much sway on political discourse, compared to 43% of adults overall. Close to a third (30%) disagree with this view.

Only a minority of adults (24%) report that they express their political views on social media. A larger proportion (41%) say they avoid posting opinions on political or social issues online completely, for fear of causing conflict with others. Indeed, 31% of adults have unfollowed or blocked someone in the last 12 months, based on the views the person has expressed on social media. This figure rises to 40% among 25- to 34-year-olds. Ultimately, 32% of adults say they do not want to follow or be friends with anyone whose political opinions they strongly disagree with.

While one in three adults report to use social media as a news source, trust in political content on social media is low. Just 19% of adults say they generally trust information they see on social media relating to politics, world news or social issues. A significant proportion (41%) of adults say they fact-check political posts before forming an opinion.

Paul Connell, CEO, Pure Telecom, said: “Social media is firmly embedded in how people in Ireland consume political information, form opinions and decide whether, or not, to engage. Our research shows that this influence has a clear generational element to it. Younger adults are more likely to be engaged by what they see online, but they are also more likely to fact-check it and be wary of the influence social media has on public opinion more broadly.

“While social media can help people to become more engaged in politics or social issues, our research shows that it can also reinforce existing beliefs rather than help people to understand opposing opinions. Clearly, social media users are wary of alienating their friends and followers by posting about political or social issues, as the clear majority of adults don’t do it for fear of losing followers and even being blocked.”

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