Editorial Cartoons and Their Impact on Voting Behavior of University Students in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This research study seeks to find out about the editorial cartoons and their impact on voting behavior of university students. The problem statement is that whether there is an impact on voting behavior of university students by reading editorial cartoons of Sri Lankan newspapers. This research is based on voters, who used their voting power in Presidential election which held on 8^th of January, 2015.  The focus group discussion performed to collect the data required. The research found that the undergraduate students were less affected by the editorial cartoons during the presidential election in 2015. Majority of the students irrespective with ethnicity and gender did not believe editorial cartoon and consumed to entertain the content of the cartoons. Less number of voters believed that editorial cartoon plays a major role in determining voting behavior by shaping the political agenda by focusing upon candidates and political issues and reinforcing the voting behavior.