An Analysis of the Meme as a Form of Political Participation of Young People in Croatia

Ovim se radom istražuje korištenje političkih memova u Hrvatskoj od strane satiričnih stranica te mladih. Istraživanjem se željelo saznati kako izgledaju politički memovi u Hrvatskoj i koga prikazuju te mogu li se oni smatrati novim oblikom političke participacije među mladima. Za provedbu istraživanja koristila se metoda analize sadržaja i online anketa, a rezultati su pokazali da je najčešće riječ o humorističnim memovima kojima se ismijavaju političari koji su trenutno na vlasti. Najzastupljeniji su Vladimir Šeks, Ivan Pernar, Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović i Josip Manolić. Anketa je pokazala da su oni studenti koji su već prije bili politički aktivni, istu aktivnost prenijeli u online svijet u kojem iskazuju svoje stavove i mišljenja putem društvenih mreža te se slažu s time da memovi oblikuju mišljenje o nekom političaru, potiču na djelovanje i mogu se smatrati oblikom političke participacije. Oni koji nisu bili aktivni, istu neaktivnost su prenijeli na društvene mreže te se ne slažu s tvrdnjama o političkim memovima. Istraživanja o političkim memovima nisu zastupljena u Hrvatskoj te se ovim radom dobiva uvid u karakteristike političkih memova u Hrvatskoj.ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to analyse the use of political memes in Croatia by looking at those memes that were created by satirical Facebook pages, and also to analyse how political memes are viewed and used by young people in Croatia, especially students. The aim is to find out how political memes are created and who the main actors in them are and also to find out if political memes can be considered as a new form of political participation. The research was conducted trough content analysis of memes, and with an online survey. The results show that most of the political memes are humorous and they are making fun of the politicians that belong to the ruling party. Vladimir Šeks, Ivan Pernar, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and Josip Manolić are the most used characters in the memes. The online survey shows that those students who are politically active in the offline world, show the same tendencies in the online world, and they use social media to give their opinion about specific topics. Those who are more active, think that memes can affect a person's view of any politician, that they can encourage them to take some action and they also consider them as a new form of political participation. Those who are not politically active, stay inactive and they do not think memes can change anything. There is not much research about political memes in Croatia, so this thesis gives a look into them