How Social Media Picks the New President

Political knowledge is more accessible than it has ever been. Prior to the digital media age, the only people who had access to political information were the upper class people who had money for newspapers and other news outlets.

However, the progression of technology has allowed everyone to gain equal access to information, from technology to pop culture to politics.

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It seems as if every news feed is saturated with biased political information posted from all ideologies. With the proliferation of news media amongst millennials and older generations alike, this political information has become a primary news source for people as they decide who they want to cast their vote for in November.

Is this a bad thing? Well, you can decide for yourself.

Nearly everyone has access to holistic political information, which means that people are generally more educated. Even if they don’t read the news articles, they see the titles and the click baits, and they can decipher the general message that the article is going to send. This results in them going to the voting booth better informed, and they are not voting off of stipulation.

Plus, these social media platforms are facilitating discussion. Have you ever scrolled through your newsfeed without seeing two random kids from high school beefing about Trump vs. Hillary? Me neither. The conversation catalyzed by social media allows people to better understand each other’s values. This can also help inform the populace and educate them about their voting decision.

There are also a few negative byproducts associated with social media selecting our president. First of all, as stated earlier, these articles are incredibly biased. Several of these articles include skewed information that is utilized to promote a particular partisan agenda. This can mislead people to believe false information, and it can muddle their honest decision for whom they pick for their votes.

So, is it okay if social media selects a president? Whichever way you feel about it, it’s an inevitability. News technology is constantly innovating, reaching out to new populaces. Will this lead to a more informed or more ignorant electorate? Find out in November.

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