Chapter five goes over social media, and how hashtags, comments, and posts can affect government policies. From high schoolers protesting gun violence in 2018 to changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day in certain states. Social media is ever changing, and there is no possible scenario that the Founding Fathers even had an inkling social media would eventually happen. This is because social media was never discussed in the constitution or at a government level, and because it is worldwide, there are only two acts, however there are many loopholes to be able to sue someone based on social media. The laws that can be related with social media are the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Communications Decency Act, these directly affect social media and its users, there are many loopholes though. That is because social media is a global network, which makes it hard to enforce. This makes it the social media’s platform and security guidelines issue, however we have known for many years that social media typically does not protect those at risk for harm, or doing the harm.
I am asking my friend (Person A), because she has never been on social media. I am asking another friend (Person B) because she is currently on social media, but is not interested in politics and does not know much about politics. Lastly, I am asking a classmate, (Person C) I am interviewing her because she is in this class and will have a background in this subject because of chapter five reading.
From this interview I learned that social media can be helpful to gain knowledge about politics but that does not apply to everyone as you will see in this interview. All participants have chosen to remain anonymous for this interview.
- Social media has taken the world by storm, it is the first global networking system used by everyday citizens. Because of this, do you think social media is (for the most part) a positive or negative place? Why or why not?
Person A: “I think it is a mostly negative place. I think it’s addictive and unproductive to scroll through other people’s lives and compare them to yours.”
Person B: “I think social media is mostly a negative space. I know this is a controversial topic and I also know social media has been a force for good in some situations. However, social media has always been a weight on my shoulders. I recently deleted most of my social media and the freedom I have felt is indescribable. Social media has been introduced to kids at such young ages that it influences how they operate and individual opinions. It seems to make depression and suicide rates go up for younger genrations. Overall, I think we would be better off without social media.”
Person C: “I think it can be both. Social media can connect you to other people easier, like family and friends. But it can also be negative because false information can be spread easily. Some people are oblivious to whether information is true or not, causing conflict with others.”
- Have you learned information on social media that is directly related to politics?
Person A: “I have learned information through news outlets that mention things from social media but not directly from social media.”
Person B: “Yes I have learned information on social media directly related to politics. How true it is, I’m not entirely sure because you can’t always believe the first thing you hear. I have definitely seen ads on social media for political campaigns. However, these ads can be dependent on what feeds your systems pick up on and are targeted towards your previous likes. That means you often don’t see the opposition or many opposing views.”
Person C: “Yes. Mainly through Twitter.”
- Has social media made you interested in politics? Can you think of an example?
Person A: “No”
Person B: “Social media has never made me interested in politics. Instead, the constant political campaigns and ads have driven me farther away from any interest I might have had simply because the politics are so constant and the arguments are so heated. There seems to be no sense of agreement, only fighting and it drives me up a wall.”
Person C: “No”
- Do you think Governmental Officials should be on social media? Why or why not?
Person A: “I would say it’s fine for their own personal lives and activities, but talking about anything government/politically related or anything like that, then no.”
Person B: “I think Government Officials should be on social media for personal reasons only. If they start posting political views or trying to influence people one way or another then I think they should either be banned or restricted. However, officials should have access to post personal things in their life just like any other citizen.”
Person C: “I think they should be. It allows them to spread their opinions on certain matters if they were running for a position or anything like that. I also think it gives them popularity points. However, when dealing with government matters, they shouldn’t be posted through social media but instead through a more reliable source.”
- Do you believe that social media makes or breaks a presidential candidate? Why or why not?
Person A: “I think it does make a difference, just because social media is so popular. I think it influences a lot of people.”
Person B: “I strongly believe social media can make or break a political candidate because cancel culture is very popular within our generation. If a candidate is found to be unfavorable, social media is used to tear them down. Rumors fly like nothing else, especially when they can go fast before being straightened out.”
Person C: “I believe social media can make or break a presidential candidate, because whatever they post on social media will always be there and past posts can come up and cause a problem. Or while they’re running, they could post something that others may disagree with but since it was already posted, they can’t take it back.”
I learned a lot while doing this interview, I learned about the people I was interviewing as well as things I need to do differently in the future. For example, my interview questions ended up getting one word answers, and so I had to change my questions on the spot in order to obtain a better response. In order to do this I had to add “why or why not?” to my questions, this also helped the interview go smoothly and gave me a better understanding of where they were coming from.
I enjoyed doing this, mainly because it was interesting to see what my friends and peers’ level of knowledge about politics was. I would suggest that you do this assignment again in the future. I believe this because it will help students form questions better. Especially because the majority of the students in this class are education majors. If a student wants to become a teacher one day, this will help them form their questions better in order to create a better conversation in the classroom.