AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA VOICES ON THE ETHNIC ISSUES IN SRI LANKA. SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SINHALA AND MUSLIM ETHNIC GROUPS

Abstract

Social media usage is increasing day by day in Sri Lanka. It became the largest news-sharing media among the young generation. This research paper investigates social media behavior and its impact on ethnic issues in Sri Lanka. The majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhists and there are two major minorities such as Tamil and Muslim. The main aim was to identify social media behavior and how it impacts ethnic issues in Sri Lanka. The main research question was whether social media reporting impacts religious conflicts. This is a mix of methodological research. The data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. The sample is 150 from 4 main provinces such as western, southern, eastern, and central Sri Lanka. This research mainly indicated that social media gives good freedom for the majority and minorities to make their voices on the same platform. Moreover, it indicates that social media create hood subgroups and it creates distractions in society. On the other hand, the results indicate that social media can create a more negative impact subjectively. Furthermore, indicates that it can increase conflict situations as it could create different news without accuracy. It was very interesting to find out that the social groups trust the news and the online chatter on social media more than the traditional media in Sri Lanka in the case of ethnic issues.