What is trending on Facebook
can reveal a good bit of what is on the minds of Americans. For an American
public that flourishes on personal opinions and the act of clicking that
“share” button on social media posts about the political scene, politics may
actually be at the forefront of the millennial generation.
U.S. Government textbooks
and public opinion polls often teach that Americans are becoming more removed
from politics, but do recent voter-turnout statistics back up this conclusion?
And if Americans are caring less about what takes place politically in society,
why is a Facebook feed overflowing with critiques of the Commander in Chief more
common today than a feed filled with pictures of family and friends?
The answers to these
questions are obviously not easily answered. However, if one is to analyze the
numbers of eligible voters who went to the polls during the 2016 election, a
conclusion that Americans are becoming detached from politics is unmistakably false.
Record-breaking
numbers at the polls during the 2016 Election revealed that at least 60% of the
American public feels strongly enough about politics to exercise his or her
right to vote. In addition to higher levels of voter turnout, data from the General Social Survey shows that more millennial Americans are politically active online via
political consumerism, the sharing of politicians’ post on one’s personal
social media page, organizing protests, etc. than previous generations.
Never the less, America
is consistently ranked near the bottom of the world’s leading democracies in
terms of voter turnout. Whether this reveals a (a) detachment or (b)
dissatisfaction with American politics by the people is an issue worth
investigating.
A common answer prior to the
2016 presidential election cycle was that “people just didn’t see the urgency.” This is the same answer
given by analyst for why democrats did not show up to support Hillary at the
polls in as high of numbers as republicans did for Trump. Whether someone is
pro-Trump or believes he is the anti-Christ himself, there is no denying that
President Trump’s campaign sparked political interest in demographics that had
previously felt detached from American politics.
Social media is major player
in modern American political campaigns because not only is it an undeniable
example of the first amendment in action, but it also allows politicians an
opportunity to communicate directly to the people. Obama set this example in
2008 through his regular social media updates to the public. No media bias. No
network party loyalties. Just a profile and a post (or 140 characters in
Trump’s case).
Political leaders are not
the only people taking advantage of this free platform.
Social media allows a
platform for every citizens to influence public opinion, giving those
individuals with millions of followers great political influence if they
choose. This pairs nicely with the point of political activism: to make an
impact on election outcomes and policy decision. So while each individual’s
vote counts exactly the same, each individual’s social media account has
varying levels of influence based on the number of followers and attention that
individual receives.
Keeping this in mind,
could one possibly come to the conclusion that social media is running American
politics?
It is highly possible.
But. Majority of the post being re-tweeted and shared today have the common
motif of general dissatisfaction with America’s current political leaders,
parties, and progress. Whether social media actually influences politicians’
behavior or if it just serves as a therapy session for Americans to complain about
their personal problems is up for debate.
What the many post, tweets,
shares, and complaints do reveal is Americans are not as far removed from
politics as comparatively low voter turnout rates imply. The Internet age has
not only led to the election of a president with a media background, but it has
also produced a resurgence of political activism.
