The “Mature” Use of Social Media in Elections
After the 2020 Election, the title of this post could be assumed to be a joke or ironic. But apparently, a presidential candidate actually has utilized social media in a “mature” and democratic way.
According to Clay Shirky, during his first campaign running, former President Barack Obama and his campaign fostered a social media space that allowed people to express their honest opinions without the potential threat of being silenced or banned from the site. On Obama’s website there was an open forum to the users who felt the need to chime in, voice their perspectives, and demonstrate support or disdain for the presidential candidate, his ideas, and the news that surrounded him at the time.
People were allowed to say whatever they wanted, support or oppose the site’s owner, and hear responses from the candidate himself. There were no restrictions, filters, bots, or rules. The media was an open forum, and it was truly the epitome and definition of social. The reason Shirky described this example as the most “mature” example of the use of social media in elections is because Obama did not restrict or silence the people.
He took the good with the bad and the support with the opposition. He did his best to communicate with the people of this forum and did his best to articulate their voices in his campaign. It was mature use for the circumstance because on his own site, he did not try to silence, brainwash, or steer anyone into his own agenda. The forum was there for the people and so was Obama. And this is just one of the many reasons why Obama is awesome.
I’m sure other people and organizations have treated social media in the mature way that Obama did during this time. However nowadays, the conventional social media sites that are used today are constantly censoring, banning, silencing, and regulating what is being put on their site. There are good reasons for that but it takes away from the true social aspect of the site and social sites can use their discretion to take down anything they don’t like, meaning they could curate their own agenda on their site, which is not mature use.
Former President Donald Trump on the other hand did not use social media in a mature or diplomatic way. Trump, along with his fever-headed supporters, incited violence, misinformation, construed lies, and did not give American’s transparency or truth. Throughout the recent pandemic, the civil rights struggles of 2020, and finally the election, Trump tried to use social media in a way a 11 year old kid might use it to role play a “king”. Trump tried to control public opinion, cover up conspiracies, make up excuses, and finally, he used it to try to overthrow the damn American government and overturn the very thing that defines the greatness of this country, the American People’s voice. Shame on you Trump, that was not very mature use.
- Caden Hendrickson, Juniata College ’23, Integrated Media Arts + Marketing
