Gen Z Uses Social Media as Their Main Source for Political News

It's not a surprise that Generation Z is somewhat obsessed with social media and finding information on the internet. It shouldn't be shocking to learn that this generation likes to use social media as their main source for political news. It's rare that people from this age group wake up in the morning and turn on the television to their favorite news channel. Nowadays, people like to go on their phone and check their favorite social media sites. 

How Social Media Is Impacting The Political Divide

A common problem with checking social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. is that the information isn't always factual and it doesn't always come from reliable outside sources. These posts are more biased and opinionated, which leads people to believe things that have been twisted to favor certain political views. A great way to find more reliable information is to research and fact check things that are posted on social media. Gen Z will most likely continue using these platforms to learn about recent political news, but as long as there are additional steps taken to ensure the information is correct, it's okay to learn this way.

Photo from Google Images

How Social Media Impacted the Gabby Petito Case

22-year-old Gabby Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, left for a long road trip on July 2nd 2021. Petito's family reported her missing on September 11th after not hearing from her since August. A body was found near Grand Teton National Park and while it has not been officially identified, it fits the description of Gabby Petito. The cause of death has also not been confirmed, but her family is anxiously waiting to hear an update. 

Social media has played an extremely important role is this case because it has helped people searching for the missing woman. A Florida family that was traveling the country, and filming while they did it, noticed a white van on their journey that looked like Petito's van from her trip. The sighting of the van was recorded on a GoPro and later discovered by the family while editing clips for their YouTube video. After noticing the van and realizing the timeline fit perfectly, the video footage was submitted to a page dedicated to tips on the case and the Petito family was contacted. This shows how social media can have such a great impact in certain situations because the footage of the van was very beneficial to the Gabby Petito case.

Link to the YouTube video:

Family believes they spotted Gabby Petito's white van on trip in Grand Teton National Park

Photo from Google Images

Are Political Posts Becoming Too Much For Social Media Users?

Over the past few years and especially during election years, people have started using social media more as an outlet for sharing their thoughts and opinions relating to political issues. Although this can be a great way to share information and learn about current events, it's not always the most reliable and it can become draining. People can sometimes be aggressive and rude when posting which can put people in a negative mood. 

According to an article from Pew Research Center by Monica Anderson and Brooke Auxier titled "55% of U.S. social media users say they are "worn out" by political posts and discussions," "social media users are already exhausted by how much political content they see on these platforms." Statistics showed that members of the Republican party felt more exhausted than members of the Democratic party from the political posts. The article states that Democrats are twice as likely to say that they enjoy seeing this kind of content. 

Seeing these posts can be stressful and frustrating, but there are always positives and negatives to viewing and posting political content online. How do you feel about political content being so prominent in social media? Does it bother you and put you in a negative mood or do you enjoy seeing and interacting with the posts?

Photo from Google Images

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/19/55-of-u-s-social-media-users-say-they-are-worn-out-by-political-posts-and-discussions/

The Texas Abortion Ban

On September 1st, 2021 the Texas Heartbeat Act officially commenced. This law bans abortion as early as the first 6 weeks of pregnancy and establishes a system where members of the public can sue abortion providers for a minimum of $10,000 in statutory damages. It was enacted in May of 2019, but is now in effect since the beginning of this month. For people that are pro-life, this was a huge victory for the state of Texas. On the other hand, activists and people that are pro-choice are struggling with this new law and are doing anything they can to change it.

In a previous post, I mentioned the popular video sharing app, TikTok. Content creators on this app started posting a lot of negative thoughts about the new Heartbeat Act. Activists wanted their voices to be heard and were willing to take matters into their own hands. A creator on the app that went by the name, Sean Black, developed a script that would automatically generate fake reports to prolifewhistleblower.com. This website is used to submit tips about potential offenders of this new law in Texas. Over 8,000 people clicked on the script to submit fake reports as a way of protesting the new law. Texas Right to Life, the creators of the tip site, were told to move to another provider or face being shut down.

The Texas Heartbeat Act is still in effect and there are no current plans to remove this law. TikTok and other social media apps can majorly influence their users. Content on the apps can spread to people throughout the world and cause various reactions. What Sean Black did is just one of many examples of the power social media can have over political issues.






https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/03/technology/texas-abortion-law-website-tiktok.html

Understanding Politics and Technology

This week's blog will be focusing on a TEDx Talk video titled "Why we need to understand the politics inherent in technology" by Evan Barba. This video shows a different perspective on the use of technology and how politics are always going to be involved. Technology and mass media shape and guide our society even when we don't realize it. 

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/QhOGWy9kvj8

A quote that stuck out to me in this video was "People are often very willing to endure a lot of inconveniences for technological progress, but they're in fact much less willing to make any kind of accommodation for social progress." Technology is meant to make things easier and to help with the development of progress in our society. Although technology can disrupt the balance of politics, working with the internet and and media will restore that balance. 

"If we all decide to make some very small changes then maybe we can start to try to restore the human connections that technology seems to have broken." -Evan Barba 

TikTok and Politics

TikTok is a video sharing app released in 2016 that has grown in popularity over the past few years. People can post anything they want, within reason, for the world to see. Over time and especially since the most recent presidential election, people have started to use the app as a way to share information about politics or criticize the political parties. Well known news organizations have even started sharing information through this platform and certain political influencers are paid to post. 

Photo from Google Images

This media platform has had a huge impact on influencing younger generations. This is normally a good thing, except it's easy to be told information that is not correct or to get confused on what views to support. Overall, it's usually pretty clear when determining what's true or false, but it's always important to fact check with credible sources because the app's main intention is to entertain. 

How the Internet Influences Politics

The internet has not always been around, but over the past few decades, it has evolved. It has changed from a luxury to a necessity for most people and it is only going to become more popular. People have learned to use the internet to their advantage. Online platforms are used to advertise, inform, and persuade their audiences so that they may benefit. 

Political organizations have seen how other companies use their online platforms, and they have learned and used different strategies to help them with spreading political messages. The political parties are able to reach many more people through the internet. It is difficult to remain unbiased because organizations will usually always end up favoring one side, which will influence what they share and post online. Everyone who uses the internet may be affected by this without even realizing. They go on platforms they like and end up being persuaded by those messages. 

https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/RP9798/98RP11