IMPACT: Social media plays a significant role in the current presidential election.
By Natalie Apostol, Staff Writer
The United States 2016 presidential race is well-regarded as one of our country’s most divisive elections in recent history. With Hillary Clinton representing the Democratic Party and Donald Trump representing the Republican Party, each political candidate has polarizing views on how the country should be run. With the age of mass social media, many voters from both parties are receiving biased information from social media forums such as Facebook and Twitter.
Many political candidates, especially Clinton and Trump, utilize these forums as a way to connect with the general public and gain as much support as possible. The Pew Research Center found that 44% of U.S. adults received information about this presidential election from social media as opposed to print newspapers; 24% of those turned to social media posts from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for news about the election. Gaining information from social media has become a popular and widely used method because it’s much more accessible than a hard copy of a newspaper. With a simple tap on the screen, Smartphone users have access to several forums and publications. Information also gets updated much faster on electronic sources than print newspapers.
However, the issue with absorbing such information is the general pervasiveness of social media biases. Because the biases are so widely dispersed through the media, the information found on social media websites are not always credible. Social media is a widely utilized tool by both candidates to sway public opinion in order to push their agendas and gain support, but there are more chances for gerrymandering.
Social media is influencing the country’s future voters as well, specifically with high school students. Instead of focusing on the actual propositions and policies of the candidates, millennials take a liking to the amount of outlandish memes circulating the Internet. Political candidates recognize this attraction by millennial voters and have been seen to post memes or humorous tweets to reach out to this specific audience and capture their attention, influencing their support and votes.
“It’s easy for people, especially within our generation, to believe everything we read on social media or agree with our friend’s opinions. But since we are future voters and our generation will eventually be leaders of the country, it’s important to be informed. People should be doing their own research [on the election] and not just reading a hashtag or blindly following their friend’s opinions on Twitter,” Connor Ramirez (12) said.
While it may seem like a more convenient option to quickly scroll through a Twitter feed or watch a short BuzzFeed video clip to retain information on the election, many voters should recognize the importance of watching the debates on television or reading articles from credible publications to make an educated opinion. While it is true that social media is a positive tool in the election, as it promotes political participation, it also raises numbers of misinformed people.
Another issue with social media regarding the election is that they tend to highlight personal histories of candidates rather than their political positions or leadership abilities. For example, footage of Trump was leaked, revealing a private conversation in which he makes vulgar comments about women. Though he isn’t the only candidate or politician to have a “scandal,” media corporations who have liberal political views use this video and information, highlight it and persuade its audience to vote for the other candidate and join their coalition.
Matt Kapko, senior writer for Chief Information Officers (CIO), wrote an article titled “How social media is shaping the 2016 presidential election,” explaining that “Social media gives people the power to organize and inform, but it’s also frequently used to exhibit narcissism and ignorance, according to Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group, a research and advisory firm. Such behavior reflects the uglier side of political discourse.” Oftentimes, the media is interested in revealing scandals because the people are more inclined to read or listen to them. As a result, not all media can or should be fully trusted by audiences, since their stories can be misconstrued, affecting public opinion and who the voters choose in the election.
Though the general public has no control over how the media portrays the candidates, individuals should form an educated opinion before voting. Making an educated vote puts the best-fit candidate into a position of power and can ultimately strengthen democracy.