M ass M edia vs. Primary Groups I nfluence on Voting Decision in 2013 General Elections of Pakistan Noshina Saleem Mian Ahmad Hanan, Muhammad Bilal Bhatti Abstract This study compares the influence of the mass media and primary groups on the voting decision of the Islamabad based voters. The survey was conducted after the general elections of 2013 held in Pakistan. It concludes that the primary groups exercise more influence than the mass media on the voting decision. This study also discloses that the voters who spent more time with family members showed stronger family members influence on their voting decision. Similarly, more time spent with the close friends increased the influence on the voting decision as well. In addition, study also claims that Time duration of Media Exposure has direct impact on voting decision of Pakistani voters. Introduction The voting decision of an individual is the outcome of personal attitudes, family and friends influence and media persuasion and effects. The general assumption is that the voters cast the vote on the basis of their wisdom and objectivity whereas the political candidates and the political parties spend huge