Memes, Millennials and the Election

Millennials Left Their Opinion Public During the Election Through Social Media

Regardless of who people voted for, one thing everyone can agree on is that the memes for the election this year were hilarious. They slammed Trump, called Hillary a crook, loved Bernie, and demanded another Obama term. The real question is what affect did memes and millennials have on the election.

Trump and Clinton fans both seem to agree that although the memes were hilarious this election season, they may have twisted the truth and put words in their mouths. Millennials are the biggest generation and had the potential to sway the election.

An online Bloomberg article reported “if only millennials voted, Clinton would have won in a landslide.” In the swing state of Pennsylvania, Clinton won in the under 45 age group.

The memes about Donald Trump were some of the harshest memes this election. Trump fan, Heather Sootkoos, said “I think a lot of personal attacks were made on his looks like his hair and his hands, which are all irrelevant.” Andrea Payne, another Trump fan said the memes often “twisted his words,” or just changed them completely.

Most memes were targeted on his hair, hands, and his comments that can be found offensive. Very few memes offered factual information that would allow those reading it to be informed on his campaign.

Policy Mic, reported that Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager fired at millennials, blaming them for the reason Clinton lost. He blamed millennials for voting for third parties, which benefited Trump, due to the lower number of votes for Clinton.

Sootkoos also thinks many people do not like Trump because some believe “his opinions are irrelevant because he isn’t a true Politian.”

Melania Trump also got hit with a lot of bad attention during the election. From her speech, with words taken from Michelle Obama, to people saying she was just in it for the money. The election memes were not forgiving to the future lady of the United States.

“They have been married for ten years, and have a kid, and she has nothing to do with the politics,” said Sootkoos.

Melania Trump has gotten a lot of pressure for what she will be wearing as her term as future first lady, and how her speeches will be going forward.

Infamous fashion designer, Tom Ford, spoke out saying he will not be dressing the future first lady. Ford has dressed Michelle Obama, but said Trump is “not necessarily my image.” FLOTUS has caused a lot of controversy and was in most aspects of Trump’s campaign.

Hillary Clinton seemed to be favored by the millennials, but the memes were not much easier on her. The memes on Clinton were not as malicious but did not give the former Secretary of State much help during her campaign.

The memes this year could have influenced some of the people who saw them if they were uneducated on the election. Gabriella Diliberto, an independent voter said “memes have a false constructed meaning behind them where the reader can be easily manipulated.”

The scandal Clinton faced during her campaign were mainly the issues concerning her emails and Benghazi. For the large number of millennials who get their news from social media, the memes that circulated the internet could have easily been misinterpreted and taken too literal.

Diliberto later continued saying “I do not find it fair that memes had such a strong impact on such a large group of people.” Millennials are the main age group of people creating memes and some meme accounts on Instagram have up to a million followers.

For the people that use social media as a form of news, these memes could easily sway individual’s opinions. The meme’s on Clinton were not only attacking her looks, but on her marriage to Bill Clinton and the controversy that surrounded Monica Lewinsky.

Despite the chaos that surrounded the election, Bernie Sanders started a movement. Regardless of if people believe it or not, it happened. The Guardian reported the situation as a type of “political revolution.”

Sanders acted as the voice for those who wanted to be heard. He preached on peace and equality for the middle class. He brought up the idea of free college education for those whose families do not make enough money to afford tuition.

One of the biggest issues of his campaign was his age. Sanders is currently 75 years old and how coherent and mentally aware he would be at the age of 79 to run a country was a serious issue.

Millennials loved Sanders, whether people were going to vote for him or not. Sanders had the cute old man impact, like the man sitting alone in a diner. Everyone wanted to keep up on what he was doing. There were rarely mean memes about him, with the exception of the every so often old man meme.

Some students did not agree with the majority of people who think that the memes influenced millennial voters. Andrew Monahan, a millennial, said “it clearly didn’t affect the election that much because Trump won.”

“I know a lot of them(memes) are false and anyone can make a meme and people can believe it,” said Monahan. He along with others believe that the memes were just for fun and people were not truly swayed by the content that was posted.

Regardless of who millennials voted for, they were one of the biggest topics during the election. Millennials started a “political revolution,” and continue to rally against the Trump presidency. The effect millennials had on the election was monumental and in the next couple elections when they become the most powerful group in America it will be a up to them where the country goes.