One of the keys to having the numbers to form governments today is electoral segmentation. In other words, to know how to direct certain messages to certain voters. In this sense, the networks could point to social trends. This weekend there was a post circulating on X, formerly Twitter, that asked: “Which networks do you use based on your vote on 23-J?” The question referred to a study by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) from November on media audiences. You must refer to question 20 to access the answer.
Firstly, the study highlights that six out of ten Spaniards use social networks to get information. It is a high percentage, to be taken into account. Of them, the majority consume Instagram (56%), Facebook (47%) and X (43%), in that order, which disproves the myth that only an elite moves on Musk’s platform. In a lower rung are TikTok, which is used by barely 15% of those who move on social networks, and YouTube, with 11%. Linkedin is practically residual when analyzing the overall population. Crossing this data on the use of social networks as an information format with the meaning of the vote last July 23, the result is striking.
The most tweeting voters are those who voted for Sumar or nationalist parties such as Junts or EH Bildu. The most active Instagrammers are those who voted for ERC, Sumar and the PP. Facebook, on the other hand, is the territory of bipartisanship, where socialists and populists dominate. And finally, Tiktok and Youtube are Vox territory.
This reality reflected in the CIS data shows two aspects to take into account. First of all, that there is a young vote, and that it is still its first appointment with the ballot box, to which the parties are obliged to look for in the networks. This explains, for example, that Pedro Sánchez agreed to be interviewed before the general elections in a popular podcast among Generation Z such as La Pija y la Quinqui. A fact: on the same 23-J, half of the almost three million voters between 18 and 24 opted for the PSOE. Just 16% did it for the PP, noted @cluster_17.
And another fact: the right and the ultra-right have a significant circulation on TikTok and YouTube. Ayuso has it and also Vox, which has started the pre-campaign in Catalonia with a video on the Chinese social network in which it calls for the expulsion of migrants.
Social networks, in short, hold an electoral mine. The key is knowing how to get there.
