We use our phones for everything nowadays. Whether it’s finding the latest fashion trend, getting the dish on our favorite (or maybe not-so-favorite) celebrities or even doing research for a school project, we use our phones for anything and everything. This handheld device carries so much information, it’s no reason why many Republicans and Democrats have even used it to help us keep up with the most recent political news events. However, is social media benefiting the political scene or is it causing more detriments?
During the 2014 midterm elections, it’s clear that social media has made a very big impact on the way we participate with politics. In the first graph of the article, Cell Phones, Social Media and Campaign 2014 by Aaron Smith, the amount of social media users in each age group and political party listed showed a dramatic increase from 2010 to 2014. Social media has become the most easiest way for politicians to interact with their supporters (and followers). No longer are regular people feeling like they belong on one side- they’re now feeling a part of something. Politicians can choose to include citizens in the know and make them feel like they really do matter. They are able to use ethos, pathos and logos (the different modes of persuasion) to their advantage.
David Iozzi and Lance Bennett state from their essay, Crossing the Campaign Divide: Dean Changes the Election Game, that “As interactive social networking technologies continue to emerge, campaigns must make strategic choices to either embrace or reject them”. We don’t see Trump talking on Instagram or Snapchat, just on Twitter. Same thing with Barack Obama- he rarely used Instagram, even though our first lady at that time did. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also uses Twitter more than she does other platforms, it’s where our younger generations are. Twitter seems more professional than Instagram and Snapchat in a way where you don’t have to post a picture for every statement you want to say. Twitter is less personal- one can just say whatever they want, and move on. At the end of the day, political campaigns are changing as social media becomes more and more popular- especially among the youth. The way we once viewed campaigns have now changed to a more technological state.