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Social media and election influence
Social media and election influence
Essays on the effects social media has on elections
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Throughout history, U.S. political leader and candidates have embraced new technologies, including F. D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats on the radio and the first televised debates between R. Nixon and J. F. Kennedy, to communicate their message and connect with constituents (Vergeer, 2012). The expanding technological landscape today presents the future presidential candidates with the challenge of integrating the Internet and Social Media in their campaign strategy. Voter demographics are changing as the generation of Millennials, defined by Pew Research Center as citizens born between 1977 and 1992 (Zickuhr, 2010), fill the entire young voter population and begin to enter the adult voter pool. At the time of the 2016 Presidential election, the entire young voter population will be comprised entirely of young adults born and raised with technology in their lives. This essay will show how, with the growing voter population of Millennials, a U.S. presidential candidate cannot succeed without an appropriate Social Media strategy in place.
Who are the Millennials?
Millennials, according to Pew Research Center (2012), the newest generation of young voters, are the most racially and ethnically diverse age group to date. Voters aged 18-29 report as only 58% white non-Hispanics, 18% Hispanic, 17% African American and 7% mixed or other. In comparison voters aged 30 and older report as 76% white non-Hispanic, 8% Hispanic, 12% African American, and 4% other. In addition to a more racially diverse population, women outnumber the men at 55% in ages 18-44 compared with approximately 51% ages 45 and older. Another factor that plays a significant role in the shift in demography is religion, young voters report attending regular church ser...
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Vaccari, C., 2010. “Technology Is a Commodity”: The Internet in the 2008 United States Presidential Election. Journal of Information Technology & Politics 7, 318–339.
Vergeer, M., 2013. Politics, elections and online campaigning: Past, present . . . and a peek into the future. New Media Society 15, 9–17.
Zhang, W., Seltzer, T., Bichard, S.L., 2013. Two Sides of the Coin: Assessing the Influence of Social Network Site Use During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Campaign. Social Science Computer Review 0894439313489962.
The purpose of this article is to persuade the reader that social media is the new alternative to mainstream big money ads for politicians. Cary’s intended audience is politicians, political campaign managers and politically engaged citizens. The tone of this article is informative but slightly opinionated. While Cary does back up her claims with notable quotes and statistics the main support for her argument is her professional opinion. Cary was formerly the
In Nicholas Carr’s article “How Social Media Is Ruining Politics”, Carr writes about the effects that social media has on politics. In his article, Carr focuses more on the negative effect that social media has when it comes to politics. Some points that he makes about social media include specific examples like the recent presidential campaigns, how other technological advances over the years have effected politics, and the effectiveness that social media has on politics
Holder, Kelly. "Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004." US Census Bureau. N.p., 1 Mar. 2006. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. .
"Voting and Registration." United States Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau, 08 May 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Howard, P. N., & Hussain, M. M. (2011). The role of digital media. Journal of Democracy, 22(3), 35-
File, T. & Crissey, S. (2010 ). Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008 – Population Characteristics. Retrieved August 21, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-562.
As of 2008 president Obama was really the pioneer in getting voters through social media. He was heavily influential on Facebook and Twitter and still is till this day. Obamas social media ad campaigning was one huge key in his race to the white house
The Web. The Web. http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/WorkingPapers/WP21Green.pdf>. Narod, A. Youth Voting Stats « YDA – Young Democrats of America." YDA Young Democrats of America.
The Millennial generation is the newest generation that is becoming adults. Born between 1980 and 2000, this generation is approximately 80 million strong. They are a tech-savvy group, with short attention spans and open minds to race, sexuality, and religion. When it comes to politics, however, there are many speculations about the scale in which they will be involved, if at all. Although many people believe that the millennial generation is too lazy and self-centered to cast their votes, this claim is not valid because they already have had a major impact on past elections.
The main aim of this report is to analyze the impacts of changes in the media concerning the societal and individual view of politics and politicians. The report also describes significant milestones in mass media since the year 1960 and examines the impact of mass media on how people think politically. The report then considers the effect of technological advancements in mass media and the effect on the results of elections. The use of mass media has increased over the last fifty years in that it is a primary medium through which supporters of various campaigners share their ideas and views concerning politicians and different political parties. Through social media, behaviors and performance of several activists have brought
In today’s world, the media almost dominates society. No matter a station’s political affiliation or the conglomerates’ beliefs, a vast variety of topics are covered almost daily. Whether it’s breaking news, feature stories, or heart-warming cartoons, the audience is almost certain to tune into any news station and learn about what is going on in the world, and e-democracy falls under that category. When it comes to anything that concerns the government, there is going to be media coverage, especially if it involves scandal or court cases. Stories vary in importance and depth, but overall they give us insight into certain topics. CNN’s Dan Caterinicchia offered the people a look at what E-Democracy is and how a man from Minnesota lobbied to make e-democracy easier by using an e-mailing list as well as an online public forum. According to Caterinicchia (1999), Minnesota e-democracy Chairman, Steven Clift, believes that such a practice would make E-Democracy an...
The researchers present findings that indicate that a politician’s popularity in the voting booth may be related to the frequency with which the candidate is talked about on social media. The researchers goes on to discuss how further research may conclude that social media has a bigger impact on voting outcomes than traditional forms of media, and how that could potentially shape the future of voting.
The purpose of this essay is to develop a further understanding of the impacts of social media in regards to the political debate. By looking at the topic of social media and the use rhetoric in response to politics in the 21st century, a deeper understanding of the issue can be established. Social media has become a primary source for the discussion of politics by the average citizen; whether through the sharing of articles, “memes”, advertisements or personal expository statements. As a result, large sums of information and ideas are spread rapidly to a wide variety of subjects. However, much of this information may not be accurate and could be misinterpreted. Consequently potentially misinformed citizens may not be able to make a properly
Social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Flicker, internet websites, and blogs are becoming mainstream attracting a younger more technology savvy voter. Many candidates in the last elections learned to use these mediums so not to overlook tech savvy voters and learned how to use these to their advantage. Candidates took to the internet to raise awareness, state views, and even successfully raised donations. Social media was able to provide instant feedback on the standing of a candidate often days or weeks sooner than a more traditional poll.
NY Times/Carr,David 2008. How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks Power. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10carr.html. [Accessed 12 February 2012]