Although social media has been important for quite some time now regarding elections, it is ready to truly take flight in 2012. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 20 percent of online users use social networking cites in order to share information about the 2010 midterm elections. Additionally, the Pew Study reported that 53 percent of Internet users went online to participate in campaign related activities. This participation ranges from watching YouTube clips or a candidate's Facebook page. Aaron Smith, a senior researcher for this Pew Study noted, "As more people live more of their lives in the social web, it becomes an important space for them to share their views and interpret what is going on in the world around them." As noted by another researcher, "we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what happens when you combine real-time web access with location services with tools that you can carry anywhere in your pocket." Although most of us already realized, social media is really beginning to take over.
In class on Wednesday we did an activity that really proved how important social media is for creating followers during campaigning. When asked what type of new media would we use if running as a candidate, everyone's answers in the class included Facebook. This shows how useful and productive facebook is among the younger generation in America and also shows us how new media is indeed taking over.
ReplyDeleteYes social media is taking over, but I wonder if there will be a limit. People are OK with social media when it enables them to be social. However, I wonder whether people will want to use social media to be connected to politics. It will remove barriers between people and politicians and people may not want that because many people believe that they elect politicians to do a job, and trust them to do that job. If the politicians are constantly searching for feedback and input, they may feel that their politician is inadequate, which will be bad for the politician, which would cause social media to be viewed as a hindrance by politicians.
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