You think you funny isit: do MINDEF's social media meme posts impact citizen trust and participation? Evidence from Singapore's young generations

Abstract

With more and more Generation Z (Gen Z) Singaporeans entering the workforce and becoming of voting age, it is no wonder various government agencies are upgrading the way they communicate on Social Media Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. With meme marketing having a great impact on Gen Z consumer behaviour, it becomes pertinent to examine the ways government bodies utilise these viral strategies to engage Gen Z Singaporeans, especially on popular platforms such as TikTok.

This paper aims to evaluate the meme content uploaded on MINDEF's TikTok page, as well as the TikTok pages of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF): The Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), the Republic of Singapore Airforce (RSAF) and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), on their impact on generating trust and participation within Gen Z viewers. This study will involve qualitative data gathered from Singaporeans aged 20 to 28 years old through at-length interviews. The interviews conducted will seek insight from Singaporeans with various levels of exposure to MINDEF. These Singaporeans will be first asked on their opinion of MINDEF and its mission statement and then shown meme or meme-like posts from the TikTok pages of MINDEF and its service branches, and finally concluding the interview with measuring any changes in participant opinions of MINDEF. The findings obtained indicated that there exists an asset-centric focus and a people-centric focus that consumers might exhibit. The common factor found between both focuses would be the sense of authenticity generated from the content consumed. This paper concludes with the suggestion that a drive towards authenticity in meme content would benefit MINDEF for the purposes of engaging Singapore’s young generations.