Prestação de contas, transparência e participação social: análise das mídias sociais das prefeituras municipais de Santo Ângelo e Mato Queimado-RS

Abstract

Recently, with the evolution and advancement of information technologies, many possibilities for the interaction and the communication between State and society have been created. In this context, social networks and their social media become an excellent tool to promote transparency, accountability and social participation. This research, therefore, aimed to analyze social media of Santo Ângelo and Mato Queimado Municipalities qualify accountability, transparency and social participation. The methodology used was classified as documental research, with a qualitative descriptive approach, being a multicase scientific research. The research was carried out on the official social networks of the municipal governments of Mato Queimado and Santo Ângelo, being respectively the largest and smallest cities that composes the COREDE Missões. The research took place between the November 10 of 2021, to January 31 of 2022. The research identified that the prefectures use two social networks, Facebook and Instagram, and together, they add up to approximately 26.156 followers, with an average of little bit more than 1,704 interactions, where most of the social media used are images, informative texts, newsletters and videos. It was noted that the social participation promoted by the networks was praised, given the availability of information in a clear and understandable way. The comparison made between the municipalities identified that population size can interfere with social participation, however, the participation of both municipalities with the citizen is null, that means that the prefectures profiles on social medias does not respond to the interactions of the followers in the pages. Finally, it is concluded that there is an initiative and a tendency to the use of digital networks by the city to promote transparency, accountability and social participation through social media, however, there is still a need for some specific improvements, such as, in this case, to make a better use of social media such as images and videos, and seek to respond to the interactions of the followers in some way, either by liking the interactions or responding to them.