Social media and politics, a winning combination

The case of Marco Ballarini, the 'social media mayor' of Corbetta, a small town in the province of Milan, has turned the spotlight on the issue of the relationship between politics and social media. Professor Alberto Bitonti, professor of Political Communication at the University of Lugano (USI), was interviewed by Ticinonews on the subject.

In his address, Alberto Bitonti underlined how politicians strategically exploit social media; with each platform having a specific audience: TikTok is ideal for targeting a younger audience, while Facebook has users from a higher age group. Therefore, ''Politicians try to be on those sites to tap into the groups they need,' the professor said. Mayor Ballarini represents an exemplary case study: his TikTok profile has more than half a million followers and boasts 20,000 views every day; it is characterised by content that alternates between very different languages and themes, aimed at reaching and engaging a broader and more diverse audience.

Although Ballarini's case is unique, it is increasingly common to see politicians on social media, a trend that - as Professor Bitonti observed - is currently less common in Switzerland than in other countries. 'There are systematic differences between politicians in different countries. We have noticed that Swiss politicians tend to be much more institutionalised than their colleagues in neighbouring Italy'. Despite this, even in our country, more and more politicians are posting their private life online, with the aim of creating an empathy with their audience.

The full article (Italian language) is available at the following link