Ministers get social media fame check, asked to engage with Gen Z

Union ministers were recently given a report on their social media activities over the past two and a half months, revealing their performance on X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. The analysis, which compared their digital outreach across four platforms, recommended that the ministers ramp up their activities to better engage with a larger audience, particularly Gen Z. Each minister received an envelope containing detailed information about their performance from May 1 to August 15, assessing metrics such as the average number of daily posts, engagement per post, total likes, follower count and overall traction generated by their posts.

The level of traction created by both political leaders and Opposition figures was also compared. Although senior ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal did not attend the Cabinet meeting, sources revealed that such performance reviews are a regular occurrence, often aimed at urging ministers to increase their digital engagement.

This latest assessment is particularly important as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been emphasizing the importance of connecting with Gen Z on social media. The ministers and other BJP leaders have been advised to focus their efforts on engaging with the youth, with the prime minister himself shifting to selfie-style videos on Instagram in an attempt to establish a more direct line of communication with younger voters.