Politics in Social Media

The use of social media is becoming more political. In fact politicians now use social media to outline their position on issues involving the country. They get responses from the public, or even articulate their position directly to constituents.  The 2012 presidential election results are in, and it is evident that social media played a larger role than ever in the outcome of the election. Can social media even predict the outcome of an election? Politics in the media has led to three key developments: communication between politicians and the public, campaigning, and greater involvement of youth in politics.  

           Facebook Post: #VoteNow  

Politics has now become one of the most influential subjects in social media and cyberspace. Politicians are using social media to connect with the public in an effort to gain feedback on challenges and issues that the people see our Country facing. Politics in social media has become a leading subject among younger voters like never before. About four out of five people are involved in some sort of political group, have commented or liked a discussion posted by a politician. More people have established means of communicating through social media than any other communication method. Many groups have formed and articles have been published on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other affiliated sites. It seems politics would fit right in with social media.  

        Breaking News: Twitter & Facebook are on the rise!!

Every year since the 2008 election the use of Twitter and Facebook has experienced an increase in users. In fact many believe that future election outcomes will be predicted by social media sites. “By one estimate, some 90 percent of senators and House members now have Twitter accounts, as do 42 governors and more than 35 world leaders” (Cruz, p.4) During the 2012 election the Obama campaign’s use of social media tools to reach voters was greater than the Romney campaign. Did Romney lose because he didn’t utilize social media like Obama?  Since the 2012 election politicians have shifted issues to the public through social media. The country is more involved with politicians, mayors, house members and even the president. Social media has allowed election hopefuls to see what the countries concerns are and focus on those in their campaigns. They were able to post videos, articles, comments, and tweet to the public showing their positions on issues. The public was able to feel more in touch with the politicians, president and even house members and gain an even great trust in who they were voting for. Up until social media we had to read, watch and research what a politicians and future president’s stance was on issues. Now we have the ability to follow them on Twitter or Facebook and ask them questions. “The house speaker John Boehner posted on Facebook his position on the debt crisis, this post drew more than fifteen thousand comments” (Griggs, p. 5).  While most political discussions tend to escalate into a heated debate you can still get an idea of where a good amount of people stand on a subject.

Can We All Get Along?

Despite such problems it seems that many Americans have engaged in politics in social media. Republicans and Democrats sharing political content with the public have certainly been supportive. Each party group is led by someone who monitors opinion posted in these discussions and remove any unnecessary posts. On the contrary young voters have been more involved in sharing of political content. Young voters mostly share with each other and their friends on social media sites and less with older voters. To some extent, the majority of people who talk politics are usually political enthusiasts that tend to argue their party views in the first place. Beside all these social media messages posted by Politicians and Congress don’t really have much of an influence on the people’s opinions.                                   

How can I put this?

To put it differently, political issues are a very serious matter, and have a big impact on hard working Americans. Discussing real important issue with the people in social media is a bit bold. These politicians where chosen to solve these issues, instead such problems are being brought back to the people. In spite of the awareness in the news and other political channels like C-Span politicians are still arguing political issues in social media. This certainly doesn’t seem as an effective way to gain respect and understand the opposing party’s views. On the other hand, all this does is rise up tension in the parties and likewise among the people who tend to engage themselves in such debates.

Michael Rodriguez & Jefferson Nah

Regis Unviersity

April 21, 2013

                                                        References

Brandon Griggs - (July 29, 2011 7:34 p.m. EDT) Congress gathering debt-crisis feedback via Facebook, | filed under: Social Media CNN http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/07/29/congress.debt.facebook/index.html?iref=all

Laurence Cruz - (2012).The Social Media Election? Retrieved from cisco newsroom http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature/1006785/2012-The-Social-Media-Election-

Portland, Maine - (Nov 09, 2012).Did Social Media Predict the 2012 Presidential Election Results? Retrieved from PRWEB  http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebpresidential-election/election-results/prweb10113142.htm