What roles have social networking sites played in politics? What function do you think they will have in coming elections? What should their function be?
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Social media networks play a large role in politics. They have a large hand when it comes to influencing the masses. Social media also helps provide information for voters, whether that information is correct or not it is the information that voters will consume and base opinions on. In future elections they will serve the purpose of both informing people about the upcoming election, the candidates and what their views are. They will also be used as a platform for people to argue and discuss their political opinions.
I agree with what you said about them providing information regardless of whether it is incorrect or not. They have a heavy influence on the masses and also serve as a middleman when it comes to the information people think they have educated themselves on.
Your right media networks have a very big role in politics and influence. Social media should have regulations to prevent people from posting false information that might mislead voters. I also agree that will be their future function.
Social networking has been a blessing and a curse in terms of what it has done for political information. On one hand, it’s never been easier to reach out to local members of government and information is widely accessible across a number of platforms. On the other, politicians can face severe harassment on social media for the messages they circulate and information is not always accurate/can be libelous in nature. This can lead to people being misinformed on topics and potentially further spread that information to peers. In coming elections, social media and networking will be a key aspect of circulating information on candidates and what they believe. That said, political media should be consumed in moderation due to the nature of its, at times, inaccuracy.
I agree with your comment 100%. Not only has it been very helpful in many ways like getting access to communication and information online, but wrongful information is very apparent on these Social network platforms and can harm the candidates image in the public eye. I agree that in the future we should moderate political media to make the information being shared as true as possible to avoid any mishaps.
Social networking sites have played an important yet detrimental role in politics. While it is a super quick and easy way to inform the general public, personal bias sways what information is being provided and can blind the real truth. Propaganda within America is also heavily influenced and plays a big part in political agendas when referring to the public eye. I think their function in upcoming politics is to not only inform readers on the political agendas of the parties and candidates but to also sway them into voting for the social networking sites political affiliation. I think their function should actually be informing the public audience of what the real truth is, how policies, laws, agendas, and bills actually affect them, and to inform them on politics and how to properly vote.
You bring up a strong point about how social networking sites can both help and harm politics. I agree that while they are quick and easy tools for sharing information, they often reflect personal or political bias, which can mislead people. You’re also right that propaganda plays a role and can shape how the public sees certain issues or candidates. I think it’s especially important, like you said, for these platforms to focus on telling the truth and helping people understand how political decisions actually affect them. Social media should be used to educate voters, not just to push a certain agenda. Your comment does a good job of showing both the risks and the responsibilities these platforms have.
I agree in that the function of mass media should be used to inform voters of the truth in public policy. Misinformation can be a problem if enough of it gets spread about.
Social networking sites let politicians share messages and connect with voters directly. They help people get involved and stay informed. In future elections, they’ll likely be even more important for reaching young voters. Their function should be to inform people with facts, not spread lies or just entertain.
Social Networking sites have played many roles in politics. For example, these sites spread information, which is not always true, and that’s what a lot of people base their political opinions on due to the fact that a majority of the people receive their information online. Social networking sites has also allowed for the spreading of information of events, fundraisers, etc. making it easier to find volunteers and people to engage. In the comin elections, I think social media will overall be the same throughout politics and mainly just influence people based on the information it puts out whether its true or false. I believe their function should be to continue to influence people and continue to contribute to elections in these ways, and also help in spreading correct and valid information as to why voting is so important to try and get more people to vote. Overall, I think social media plays a crucial role in influencing and just getting out information about elections and politics and it’s a great outlet, but you should always be cautious and investigate whether some of the information and news is true.
I think you made some really good points about how social networking sites influence politics. You’re right that most people get their news online, and that can be a problem when the information isn’t always accurate. I also agree that social media helps promote events and encourages more people to get involved, which is definitely a benefit. Your idea that social media should focus more on spreading accurate information and explaining why voting matters is really important—especially for younger voters. I also liked how you reminded people to be cautious and check if what they’re seeing is true. That’s something everyone should keep in mind when using these platforms during election season.
I agree that not all of the information that is spread is true. Often politicians will misinform people in order to make themselves look good.
Social networking has been both very helpful and horrible for receiving political information and its reputation. In terms of the benefits, it’s given a chance for younger people to be more immersed in politics since politicians have been active on social media outlets like Facebook, X, etc. Social media has also given candidates a chance to campaign and gain more attention. For example, Obama’s 2008 campaign, Trump’s 2016 campaign, and Biden’s 2020 campaign. On the other hand social networking has done horrible damage to the meaning of politics and the minds of voters all across the United States. A lot of media posts are heavily biased from their authors, often giving voters the wrong information, or blowing the truth way out of proportion. In upcoming elections, social networking will be a prominent feature in terms of circulating information and being increasingly personalized to voters’ interests. However, their function should be remaining neutral for the public, as well as targeting misinformation and promoting civic education.
I agree with your points—social networking has definitely had both positive and negative effects on politics. It’s true that it’s helped younger people get more involved and has made it easier for candidates to reach voters, especially with the examples you gave like Obama and Trump. At the same time, you’re right that biased posts and misinformation can seriously affect how people view politics and make decisions. In future elections, I also think social media should focus more on staying neutral, stopping false information, and helping people better understand the political process. Your comment gives a balanced view of the issue.
I agree with several of your points, mainly the fact that misinformation is spread widely and the truth definitely does get blown out of proportion. While news outlets did have the same issue, the easy spread and digestibility of short-form content, the easy trap of doom scrolling, and browsing X can contribute to an even bigger wedge split between people due to the lack of restrictions and enforcement on faulty sources of political information and I agree that it should, in the future, be turned into a mainly neutral source of information for the public.
Social networking sites have played an important role in politics by helping politicians connect directly with voters and allowing people to share opinions and organize around issues. Platforms like Twitter and Instagram let candidates promote their ideas, raise money, and reach younger audiences without relying on traditional news. In future elections, social media will likely become even more influential. It can help spread information quickly and increase voter engagement, but it can also spread misinformation and deepen political divisions if not used responsibly. Ideally, social networking sites should provide accurate information, support fair political discussion, and encourage respectful participation in the democratic process.
Indeed the ideal usage of social networking is to inform the masses and connect the politicians and voters but with all things that hold potential power they get swayed, used, and/or influenced by people of power to work under a bias for the higher up’s favor or even by the masses in some cases to spread ideals about a candidate that don’t paint the full picture.
Social networking’s role in politics is important as it is an information source that many of the public rely on to know candidates and their goals. However, in the coming elections they will likely be used to sway public opinion to one side over another in a tug of war of influence. Their function should be just to inform the public and possibly be a debate platform where people get to know and get in contact with candidates as well as interact with other voters.
I really like the point that was made with getting in candidates. I had not previously thought of that as an option. I believe that contacting candidates directly can be a long process or one that is more time consuming then what people would go out of there way to do. But with social media being easier to access it can be a great idea to set up more ways to directly contact delegates. With the important use of social media being an information source on what candidates goals are, what can be a better way to have a debate without having a hard way to follow each interaction or message? I think maybe make another section specifically showing interactions between each candidates to not only see their views but there character and how they handle themselves.
Social Networking sites give politicians an opportunity to advertise their campaign and to spread a message to voters about the candidate’s platform. Social networking sites will have a large impact on what information people see and in turn what people will believe and say. Political and party supporters will use these apps to say and show who the next president should be. The current function of mass media in politics plays a big role in campaigning and affecting the beliefs of voters, both with correct and misleading information. The function of mass media, as it stands, has a lot of risk in spreading lies and misinformation, which in the future should be sought to be minimized.
You make a great point – social media definitely shapes what people believe, for better or worse. I agree that reducing misinformation should be a priority to ensure voters can make informed decisions.
Roles Social Networking sites have played in politics are things like Direct Communication and outreach, fundraising and mobilization, and even targeted advertising and Micro targeting. I think Social net working will continue to be used as a place to get information about coming elections and other voting polls, but i think they should have less power of that function. What i mean by that is the media, especially big names, tend to give out false information about a certain situation/person. The average voter doesn’t usually put the time and effort into researching about the candidates or what they stand for, and most likely get their information from ads and mass media articles that are shoved down the throats of Americans during election periods. This is why I think that Social networking should either start spewing correct information, or step back and lose some of their power in the elections so voters can make their vote on who they think will be a better candidate based on true facts.
False information is a huge problem in media so thank you for mentioning it. Many of the larger ads seen are paid for by groups that aim to de-platform or defame candidates. Social networking probably will not lose its power in elections but it definitely should be limited given its impact.
Social media has played the role of the crucial platform for politics. I hope to see social media being used as a hub of quality information. It is important to be informed on the context around elections, so social media can be a great place for people to ask questions and get quality answers on political topics. However, it is more likely that social media will continue to serve as a dump for unreliable and useless information unfortunately.
I agree thar social media can be used as a hub for quality information especially for those that are curious on certain topics. I also believe that it can be used as a dump for unreliable and useless information just as we can see in certain new stations. With this in mind I do believe no matter the platform it is crucial for people to question the source and validity of whatever information they are digesting. I do understand that it takes time, energy and most importantly the want to fact check or really think about a piece of information they are getting. But it is still extremely important to stay informed in a political climate where those in power stay in power because there are mass amount of people that are ill informed. I do believe that social media can have extremely reliable and useful information as well. With the rise of censorship having platforms where free speech and unfiltered news is important in a society where mass news may not be covering the atrocities that may be happening. By regular people reporting what they see and try there best to stay as truthful as possible it helps to see the world in an unregulated way. As we’ve seen there have been regimes that would filter media to keep the people disconnected to what is happening in there land. All in all it is important to filter out media and take in good media but that should be left on our part and not the government.
What roles have social networking sites played in politics? What function do you think they will have in coming elections? What should their function be?
The roles social networking sites play in politics is important in how individuals, corporations, and candidates all share information on an instant and personal level. By sharing information and ideas on a wide variety of political topics people are able to expand there own thoughts and views. The functions of such sites will have a huge impact on up coming elections by being able to have a large amounts of informative information to be dicussed.Which in turn allows people to see the truth and impacts of policies that those elected will true to impose on systems. The functions of networking sites should be able to allow free speech on all sorts of topics. This is not only beneficial to the people posting but for critical thinkers as well.
I agree that social networking allows people to expand their own thoughts. Political topics should be something that is expressed by everyone to gain a better understanding. As well as those social networking being used as a resource to gain our knowledge about informative information.
Social networking sites have become major tools in politics, used for everything from campaign advertising to mobilizing voters and spreading political messages. Politicians use platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok to connect directly with voters, especially younger ones. However, these sites have also been criticized for spreading misinformation and creating echo chambers. In future elections, they’ll likely play an even bigger role in shaping public opinion and turnout. Ideally, their function should include promoting civic engagement, providing accurate information, and increasing transparency—while also taking stronger steps to limit false or harmful content.
Agreed, Social networks are a place where people gather online in so forming communities that share information with each other, while connecting people, as mentioned, it also makes echo chambers that only let people hear what they agree with already, preventing people from seeing the whole picture. As a place of information and gathering, social networks would need to be more regulated in the accuracy of information and more as mentioned however it is an ideal that is unlikely to be realized as users are too many and information is too vast for it all to be properly regulated and corrected.
This!!! The echo chamber is all too real on social networks with information that tends to be faulty or not entirely accurate. This behavior needs to be fixed so that people want to engage with the political sphere. The interest needs to be there and the actions taken on social networks aren’t giving people a real reason to want to engage if they cannot gauge the accuracy of what they’re seeing. It is an unfortunate but incredibly vicious cycle in politics that no one is exempt from.
Social networking sites have played a huge role in shaping public opinion and spreading political messages. They allow politicians to connect directly with voters and help movements gain traction quickly. In future elections, their function should be to promote transparency, encourage civic engagement, and fight misinformation
The role that current social media platforms take is that of a messenger. They often mix truth and misinformation and spread it like wildfire from all sides of the political spectrum. In the future, I believe it will be used to spread AI-faked news and honestly make a turn toward more misinformation. I think the Media should be able to spread correct info, without it being twisted .
Social networking sites influence the way we get news out to the entire world. Acting as a messenger of sorts, we are able to broadcast whatever we want to any part of the world with just the press of a button. Social media connects everyone in many different ways but information can sometimes be manipulated to make a certain person. (party, group, candidate ect.) In the future i believe that social media can be used the way its supposed to without the misdirection
I agree. Politicians can easily misinform people to make their name look better on the ballot.
The role that current social networking platforms have is that they can influence public opinion. They can both inform and misinform people about what is going on. The role I think that they will have in upcoming elections is giving out information about who are the candidates and what their views are. I think that their function should be to actually give out information and candidates and other important things without being biased towards one side. Simply giving out the truth.
Yes, I agree that these platforms inform and misinform voters. I do think that politician should be able to post things onto social networks that are biased towards their side, it should be expected. However the function of these platforms should restrict misinformation.
Social networking sites like twitter, Instagram, etc. are coinvent ways for politicians to push their agenda with little limitation. Because of how common social media is, it’s a most people primary source for political updates. The will persuade voter’s choice based on what is pushed onto them from an algorithm. They should be a platform were voters and politician voice their opinions, but it shouldn’t be a source of fact.
Social network sites are easy ways that candidates can get their policy out. This is especially important for the younger voting blocks because they are less likely to turn on the news. They get a lot of their information from social network sights. I think politicians will advertise more on social media in coming elections because it is constantly growing.
I agree that these social network sites are more applicable to younger voters because not a lot of young people watch the news.
Social Networking sites allows politicians to advertise their campaign and to spread information about the candidate’s platform to the constituents. Social networking sites have a large impact on what info people get to view. Political and party supporters also use these sites to broadcast info about the presidential polls. The current function of mass media in politics is to convince the public about what they “should” believe. Unfortunately, a big side effect of these sites is that they often times spread misinformation.
I agree that the downside to these sites is the mass amounts of misinformation that they spread, if they were all truthful I think that Social Networking would be the main strongpoint of political campaigns.
Social networking sites play a major role in politics as they allow candidates to connect directly with the voter, spread messages quickly and widely, and they give people a platform to share opinions. In coming elections they will continue to increase voter engagement especially amongst the young voters. Their function should be to provide real information, promote political engagement while still staying transparent.
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have affected politics and people’s views on politics by a huge margin, especially younger demographics. Which, while it is important to stay informed, is not the best due to the fact that the people who run accounts focused on politics or politicians themselves have their own major biases and views which can and have affected how information is spread. It’s very easy to spread misinformation through short form content as getting away without sources is incredibly easy when its also put so digestibly for people to watch. In the coming elections, especially as older generations fizzle out, their influence will spread like a wildfire due to adults and children both ingesting the same form of short form content. Once again, while it is important to stay informed, I believe due to the ease of being able to spread misinformation, bias, and skewed data that their function should be severely cut.