Growing Up: The Impact Of Social Media On The 2016 Presidential Election

Social Media Grows Up: The impact of Social Media on the 2016 Presidential Election

The history of the campaign trail begins when formal written communication, such as newspapers, was the primary source of information about candidates. Since then, the public has been granted increasingly intimate exposures with potential presidents as new technology arises. As an example, the invention of the steam engine brought some lucky voters face to face with candidates; and with each new station the candidate is given a chance to win the hearts and minds of new voters. These stump speeches grew into a tradition of meeting the voters where they live, in towns across America. Candidates can be seen to focus energy in key states, but always make plans

What readers won’t find within Bernie Sanders’ plethora of status updates are references to the senator’s personal life. To contrast, Hillary Clinton’s approach to social media is to engage her audience by sharing some of her favorite things on Pintrest, not just her political opinions. Additionally, Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump shows he is more comfortable with social media than his peers. Used to the theatre of reality TV, Trump draws fans into his tough persona by initiating twitter wars between TV show hosts like Megan Kelly and Bill O’Reilly. The attacks from Trump could be part of a larger strategy to garner attention through aggravation, though Bill O’Reilly had a simpler explanation for the bitter tweets; “I’ve known Donald Trump for years. He wants people to like him…When people criticize him, he takes it personally.” (Donald, 2015) Voters have a unique opportunity to get to know the candidates more intimately than ever before and gain further insights with each tweet or status update, rather than awaiting a debate, political commercial, or the rare opportunity to meet a candidate face to

For those Luddites who miss opportunities to like or follow a presidential candidate online, the conversation may be missing something. Candidates are not slowing the scheduled face to face meetings with constituents any time soon. For instance, town hall meetings are being scheduled now for the coming primary elections next year. The candidates are taking every opportunity to get in front of cameras and discuss their views and personality. However, the drama and nuance of a candidate’s twitter campaign will be lost on those who are offline, and that constitutes a large portion of voters. As a general rule, reliable voters are also senior citizens. It is no surprise that a voter aged 55-64 is twice as likely to cast his or her ballot as a voter in the age range of 18-24. (Why, 2012) Consequently, voters over 50 are typically less engaged in social media than their younger counterparts. This may be the reason why a virtual connection with a candidate is not ruling the 2016 presidential race. Politicians and outsider candidates alike realize that the majority of voters still prefer real