In 2005, only five percent of the United States population used social media. Today, that number has increased to 70 percent. This widespread use of social media has impacted how Americans view the world around them, particularly in terms of politics and social issues.
By connecting people across the nation, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have woven online conversation and offline action, strengthening social movements. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement has significantly grown due to its established presence on social media. Since 2013, posts with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter have appeared over 11 million times. Social media platforms have helped such movements proliferate at unprecedented rates.
In addition, social media can promote voting. Previously, many individuals did not know how to register to vote through the mail. However, during the last election cycle Facebook reminded users to register to vote and conveniently linked users to a voter registration website. According to Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook helped more than two million users register to vote in 2016. Social media’s new role in encouraging participation in politics may be integral to the future of America’s democracy.
Ironically, though it may encourage people to be more politically active, social media can also reinforce skewed views. For instance, Facebook algorithms connect users with new pages based on posts they had liked. As a result, users tend to encounter pages supporting their own political inclinations, rather than a variety of sources. Dubbed “echo chambers” by social science researchers, this phenomenon causes users to congregate in polarized groups and share content with confirmation bias. If people remain sequestered in their own communities, social media cannot foster diversity in opinion and respectful, intellectual conversations.
Most importantly, from Obama’s Facebook campaign in 2008 to Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election, social media gained momentum as a powerful political tool. According to Trump’s digital director Brad Parscale, much of Trump’s victory can be attributed to his Twitter and Facebook campaigns. Known for his impromptu tweets on controversial matters, Trump has appealed to the general public by playing the role of an entertainer. His massive social media following is unparalleled by that of any other politician; 37.8 million people see his announcements daily. Politicians should no longer take Twitter lightly and ought to use social media to effectively maintain direct communication with the public.
In our digital age, politics is deeply ingrained in our social media platforms. As the next voting generation, Warriors should not avoid politics on social media but rather learn to use the platforms for its benefits—as a valuable resource for political activism—while treading cautiously around the crass and prejudiced posts that pollute it.