Let me start out with a question: When have you ever seen a
political post or discussion on Facebook end well and with everyone getting
along?
I don’t know about you, but my answer would be never…
The rise of social media has drastically changed how
politics work, in both good and bad ways.
First, let’s talk about the good changes.
Starting on September 23, Facebook had a reminder for users to register to vote. There were two options: “Share You’re
Registered” and “Register Now.” And as a result of this reminder, almost every
state saw large increases in online voter registration.
Looking at the results,
there were major spikes in voter registration on the days that Facebook had the
banner on the site. Here in Massachusetts, for example, voter registration went
from 1,000-2,000 each day to 16,000 on the first day that Facebook had this
campaign. And similar results were seen in many other states.
Also, in general, Facebook has become a way for users to
stay up-to-date with politics and the news.
But with that comes the issue of verification. I’m sure you’ve
all heard it before, but not everything you read on Facebook is true and
accurate. There’s lots of false information and articles floating around, and
people often do believe it if they don’t know better.
One other thing that happens on Facebook regarding politics are
those infamous rants that leads to arguments. You know which ones I’m talking about… Someone posts
something that has to do with politics and people immediately think of it as a
personal attack, and then arguments start in the comments.
And when arguments happen, you’re probably doing the opposite of getting support for what you and your political party believe in.
I think we can all agree that political posts are inevitable, especially during a presidential election. But is it really helping you when you post about it?? I'd say, probably not.
I agree with you about Facebook being good in reminding people to register to vote. This being the first election that I was able to vote in, I needed to first register to vote and Facebook actually reminded me. I also agree that Facebook is not the best for providing accurate information especially on political information but sometimes it is a good way to inform people of events taking place. I know a lot of the time i see a new post that someone shared about Trump making crude comments to women or things of that nature and as someone who doesn't watch the news regularly I like reading these things. I of course don't always believe everything i see and occasionally I do additional research then just reading that post but I do find it helpful on keeping me up to date with things, especially when it comes to this crazy debate.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused when you use the word "Facebook." Do you mean "text put on the web page by the publically traded corporation who's majority shareholders are Zuckerberg, Moskovitz, Saverin, and various venture capitalists? Or do you mean "stupid sh*t that people post on their personal pages?"
ReplyDeleteBecause the register-to-vote banner came from the first group, and the false information from the second. While there is a public debate about whether the "Trending Stories" section is adversely impacting public discourse, I can't tell whether you're speaking against that or not.
I respect political posts as long as they are well supported. Like, if you are just going to say "Hillary Clinton is a bitch" I am not going to be sympathetic. I think over time though you know how other people will act or respond on social media; there are several family members/friends I have stopped following online because I feel they express their political views in a very alienating way.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog post because most people can relate to it. When Trump was elected president so many people turned to facebook to complain about the issue whether they agreed or disagreed. It would definitely be a good idea to provide a follow up post to this about the outcome of the election. I think that since this is such a hot topic during this current election you could have added some examples you have come across or ones that have really stuck out to prove your point even more.
ReplyDelete