Social Media Effects On Presidential Elections

Is social media just for sharing our feelings and giving insight to our lives, or is it made for much more? The ever so rapid growth of social media is affecting almost every aspect of our lives including presidential elections. There are both the positive and negative effects of technology on presidential elections. Just 10 years ago elections and campaigning were completely different. Social media has brought about a whole new way of campaigning. Millions of young people have some form of social media allowing candidates to easily engage the young demographic in politics. It is much easier and more cost effective for candidates to communicate with their followers, but on the flip side people have unlimited range of information they can post …show more content…
Social media is often the first source of information on not just other people social lives, but for news as well. “Nearly two-thirds of US adults use social media, and for many, it is the first source for news and information gathering” (James). Of the sixty percent of US adults that use social media, 20% follow public figures, potential candidates, and or elected officials and 35% encourage others on social media to get out and vote (James). Social media is used by many, and reaches all ages and demographics. Per Jones, teens and young adults, ages 16-24 spend more than 200 minutes a day on a mobile device. This number is expected to continue to grow due to the increase in people always wanting to know what is going on. Thomson states that it is imperative for candidates to campaign on social media to reach the young demographic because they “make(s) up the same proportion of the U.S. voting-age population as the Baby …show more content…
Society is constantly keeping in touch and interacting with others via social media, with this being such a big part of our lives it is very evident how important the role it plays in social media. Social media reaches all demographics, it used to be the younger demographic didn’t keep up with politics, but now that politics are all over where they spend most of their time, social media, it is easy for them to engage and keep up with the most recent issues. It allows for direct interaction, candidates can talk directly with their followers on their views, and in return followers can easily let it be known their views and feedback for the candidates, it’s a two-way street. Candidates become more accountable for their actions and words because everything they say is either on social media, or is talked about via social media. Cost of campaigns are astronomical, but social media helps alleviates some of this big burden. Candidates can also see where they stand with the people and justify what they stand for to please their followers. In my opinion social media is having a positive effect on politics, because it allows the people to constantly see where their candidate stands. It keeps us up to date moment to moment on big issues and allows us to voice our opinions on the candidates and their views. Before social media it was