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Imaginary Interview
America Rivera
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
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References:
Daniel, K., Shannon, M. (2018, April 3). Technology firms shape political communication: The work of Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Google with campaigns during the 2016 U.S. presidential cycle. Taylor & Francis Online.
Leticia, B. (2016, January 2). Political News in the News Feed: Learning Politics from Social Media. Laurence Elbaum Associates.
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Interview:
America: Hi, I know you three have studied the idea of social media and politics and I would like to ask a few questions. Is that fine?
Daniel, K., Leticia, B., and Shannon, M. (all authors): Hey. Yes, of course, this should be fun.
America: Okay so my first question is, Do you think social media has had a positive or negative effect on politics?
Shannon, M: I would say social media has had a more positive effect for the main reason that it keeps people more involved. For example, during the 2016 U.S presidential cycle, there were different screens at the convention showing the participation of people within the political conversation from google, facebook, and twitter. The results were high and it shows how many people stay participated in politics through social media.
Leticia, B: I agree and I want to add on. Not only does it keep voters involved, but it informs others who can’t receive the proper education. There are always existing political conversations on social media. We found that social media presents a possible solution to this knowledge gap since social media has this possibility to get to those who are less politically sophisticated. Social media offers a way to reach them with political information incidentally, meaning they can eventually catch up on political knowledge and what’s going on.
Daniel, K (responds to Leticia, B): I agree with you Leticia, social media does have a positive effect because although voters may be targeted on social media from candidates or celebrities, social media does target others. We found that some people who follow celebrities get impacted because there are many celebrities who speak politically on social media, meaning they can inform their followers.
America: Thank You. So now I know you guys think social media has overall positive effects, but do you still think it has some negative effects?
Leticia B: Of course, there will always be some negative effects. Something I found was that although social media can inform man about political issues or occurrences, it doesn’t necessarily mean more people are participating. So yes social media does catch the eyes of non-voters and informs the less sophisticated, but it doesn’t mean they actually go out to vote a lot more. Sometimes those less sophisticated are those who don’t even have the right to vote.
Daniel K: Of course, there will always be some negative effects. For example, I found that when there are elections or national conventions, there are bound to be arguments. When arguments develop, there is usually going back and forth on some sort of social media platform. For example, Trump can make a statement about something claiming against Hilary, then this will lead to arguments on social media platforms. Arguments can be those involving fans or other politicians. There can be political debates on social media which might not always end up well. Some might even start protest. In the 2016 election, Trump claimed if he won the presidency that he will build a wall on the Mexican-American border which led to protest between those who supported his idea and those who didn’t or his idea negatively affected.
America: Alright so lastly, I am trying to focus more on Twitter’s effects on politics. Being so what advice or information would you give me to show that twitter does have an effect on politics? The effects can be either negative or positive.
Daniel K: The specific platform of Twitter affects this relationship between social media and politics because twitter allows for retweets. Although Facebook does allow for things to be shared, Twitter is a space where public opinions are usually posted, meaning politicians can make statements a lot more straightforward and others who support can retweet.
Shannon, M: I want to add on to my peer Daniels thoughts, at the convention, there was even a twitter analytics display where people sat down and watched the results twitter has revolving the 2016 election. There was also a twitter blue room which was a live broadcasting space where candidates can participate and post on twitter.
Leticia, B: Finally, I agree with what they both said, but twitter also targets a certain age most. Although this can be a positive effect because it targets the older age group which is more involved in politics, it can also be negative. This can be a negative effect because the younger people are the future so if they aren’t as involved with learning about politics then it affects the future of politics.
Here is a link to this interview
