9. Limitations and conclusion
In summary, this paper explores the use of social media in civic engagement from a boundary object perspective. Using an indepth case study on social media-enabled crime-fighting communities in Malaysia, this paper addressed the research question of how social media catalyze civic engagement by proposing that social media could be enacted as boundary objects to overcome several barriers that previously impede civic engagement. More specifically, this study uncovered the emergence and enactment of social media in practice and showed how social media could be enacted to span different boundaries that inherently restrict civic engagement.
Nevertheless, the implications of this research should be viewed within the context of its limitations. Although we have discussed how social media could effectively function as boundary objects and catalyze civic engagement, we do not examine the potential downsides of social media use. Few existing studies have recently commented on the potential negative implications of social media [32]). In the context of civic engagement, for instance, social media may be used to ignite unnecessary protests and chaos [64]. The introduction of technology-based civic participation may also amplify the problem of inequality such as the issue of digital divide [52]. Addressing the potential downsides of social media is beyond the scope of the paper, but questions related to such limitations and challenges of social media would remain as an important area for future research.
