Gabriella Pinos/ Staff Writer
Social media has become America’s town square, a place where people can come together and hear each other out.
And with a midterm election looming over our shoulder, that town square feels more crowded than ever.
After the highly controversial 2016 presidential election, social media has proven to be influential in the way we view elections. The closer we get to Nov. 6, the more ads, tweets and Instagram stories we see about our responsibilities as citizens.
For the selfish, emboldened millennials that are voting for the first time, this may all seem off-putting. But using new media to share our political views and promote campaigns is nothing new.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, for example, used the radio for his famous “fireside chats,” in which he discussed issues such as unemployment and war to the nation in a conversational manner. When John F. Kennedy went up against Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, their debates were broadcast live on television. Seeing the candidates perform on a screen influenced the election that year, which Kennedy narrowly won.
The same phenomenon is occurring with the advent of social media, where users are given even more freedom to express themselves on a global level. Through televised debates, radio broadcasts and tweets, the American public has integrated itself into politics like never before.
The difference is that social media allows politicians, including the president, to address the entire world at their fingertips. Everything, from campaigns to damage control, must be digital if a candidate wants to succeed. In other words, if you neglect your social media presence, you might as well throw your campaign posters in the garbage.
In a way, social media has given the power back to the people. We don’t need a license to share our thoughts on politics; all we need is a brain and a smartphone. Popular opinions on social issues no longer come from TV but from the minds of common citizens.
And although turnout for midterm elections has always been low, recent political events have driven us to go vote, or at least we say so on our Instagram stories. Not only am I old enough to vote in this election, but it’s the first time I’ve seen once apolitical friends excited to go to the polls on Nov. 6.
While the internet has given us more power to comment on politics, it comes at the price of privacy. Rather than sit by the fireplace or on our living room couch, our local candidates are at work, in the car, at lunch and on the toilet 24/7. Or worse, they harvest our data from our profiles a la Facebook to get us to vote for them.
The era of fake news we’re living in doesn’t make things easier. In 2016, 17 percent of users said that social media changed their mind on a political candidate, according to Pew Research Center, while 20 percent said they changed their views on an issue because of something they saw on social media.
We should, therefore, make sure the information we read online is accurate and not the uninformed opinion of a conspiracy theorist.
But even if you are skeptical of social media, having a public space to spout your political beliefs is amazing. Even if we think no one is listening, we, the stuck-up millennials, can badmouth a candidate or preach about voting all we want without repercussion. And when the next big breakthrough in technology comes around, that public space will only grow.
Just remember next time you check your feed: if it’s on social media and it’s about politics, don’t take it too seriously.
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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Photo by Headway on Unsplash.
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