“Trumped Up, Trickled Down” Social Media: The Power Social Media Has on Current Events
In our society today, popular media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are not only used for sharing fun and innocent posts about people’s lives but are being used to share opinions about controversial current events. One of the biggest social media influences recently has been the 2016 US presidential election, where a study by the Youth & Participatory Politics Survey Project reported that 41% of people between the ages of 14 to 25 participated in sharing their political opinion online through their selected social media platform. The impact social media platforms had on this election have never been seen before, as the two candidates were using major platforms such as Twitter to express their feelings against one another in an unprofessional manner; Because of this, Twitter became a source of information that was essential to stay updated on the election and the current status of how both candidates were responding to the other.
While Twitter gave Trump a chance to speak for himself through all the news articles and reporters around him, the idea of the two candidates being able to act so unprofessionally during such an important event became a very controversial topic. Many argued that Twitter should not be able to support or help give a platform to either candidates, as it takes focus away from the details of the election that US citizens should be focused on rather than turning the election into a social media wrestling match of anger and petty words. Others argued that social media today has become a valid source of information, especially for younger generations, and that candidates using these platforms help include young adults in politics today.
Although both arguments consider different possibilities social media has on our future society surrounding controversial topics, we live in a world today where social media has grown into a worldwide tool that everyone is entitled to use. Those who choose to use it for staying updated on current events will have to face the idea that people who they don’t agree with will also be able to voice their opinion. Our society today has passed the era where valid information was only found in published newspapers; This change could be a problem or it could also be a revolution.
Before, the information on current events that was available was given through a small collection of sources based on the selected events that would be chosen to be published that day. Today, we live in “The Tyranny of Now” where there is a limitless amount of information on countless stories from around the world; Because of this, people may not be able to focus on one particular story more than others, but there consists of many stories that are given attention rather than being forgotten.
While Twitter gave Trump and Clinton a chance to share their personal opinions during the campaign, it is important to consider how social media also gives a platform for everyone to share their opinion, especially those who choose to reconcile against these actions who also hold a major social influence. Our society today must continue to contemplate the impacts social media has through spreading unedited information that is different than information spread through news articles, but it is also a significant part of the future that should not be ignored through the fear of change.
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