Question: In what ways has the recent surge in social media use shaped the relationship between members of Congress and their constituents? Social Media As A Tool for Congressional Messaging
On the morning of September 12, 2017, Ted Cruz woke up to find that he was trending on Twitter, but not in a favorable or appropriate way. The Texas senator’s Twitter account inexplicably “liked” a two minute, graphic, pornographic video on the social media site. Overnight, over millions of Twitter followers became aware of the explicit video, and millions more read about Cruz’s link to it (Selk 2017). The culprit turned out to be a young and mortified Cruz staffer, but the incident raises the inevitable question: does social media use by elected politicians on balance help or hurt them?
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Social media allows for members of Congress to broadcast their messages directly to masses, without worrying about how the media will interpret them. But as seen from the example above, social media has its opportunities and drawbacks. Some congressmen know how to successfully utilize social media to their benefit, while others struggle with using it in an efficient way. Not only does Congress use social media to promote themselves and their campaigns, but they have found ways to incorporate social media into their own websites, advertisements, and daily life (Davis and Strickler, 1999, 1-3). Social media has shaped the relationship between congressmen and their constituents by allowing for direct communication, causing congressmen to be more susceptible to criticism, and requiring increased use of resources by