Hamish Lloyd Barnes (Year 13) examines the causes and effects of the shift of political debate online Behind the rise of the keyboard politician
I n the run-up to the 2015 General Election, there was a seemingly tangible political buzz in the air – or was it just the sound of the billions of notifications received as young people tweeted or posted their opinions for the world to critique? As I sat on my phone, wading through Twitter brawls and Facebook rows, I couldn’t help but wonder whether this sporadic interest the nation’s youth seemed to be taking in politics was just that, or merely a desperate bid for attention as each user strived for more likes than the last. Certainly, among Alleynians there does appear to be a genuine desire to make their political voices heard, regardless of the medium. However, while social media has given boys a ready forum in which to do so, it has arguably also engendered a new breed of divisive debate. So why are we particularly drawn to voicing political opinions? One answer could be that social media provides individuals with a platform to feel part of a greater community. A study by Dr Stephanie Tobin from The University of Queensland’s School of Psychology found that active participation on social media gives users a ‘sense of connectedness’. Tobin claims that social media users crave feedback and responses and, coupled with politics’ ability to divide opinion into a discrete set of labels, social media allows users to be united in their political views, giving them a sense of self-fulfilment and happiness. Sadly, it is this deadly mix of self-fulfilment and political generalisation that makes social media so threatening to the future of politics, as it encourages users to embrace parties before individual political ideologies. This might be one reason why Conservative and Labour took a combined 563 seats in the recent general election, leaving all other parties with only 87, as online users are perhaps more inclined to follow popular thought without consulting their own political conscience. Another explanation could be that people think of the internet as a powerful tool for change in modern society
– which it no doubt is, with more than three billion people using the internet in 2016. This sees social media becoming a conduit for political education, particularly amongst those whose opinions are most malleable: young people. Interestingly, 34 per cent of 18 to 24 year-olds admitted when surveyed that social media would influence their vote in the recent election. However, it would seem we are confronted with a vicious cycle as social media makes debate more divisive and superficial at the same time as having a large impact upon the votes of young people. When confined to 140 characters, it would seem that political debate on social media is self-defeating, wouldn’t it? Paradoxically, politicians have recently begun to self- promote through a social media lens, educating the electorate through an accessible medium. Although the divisive nature of social media politics might trigger ill- informed decisions from users, there is evidence that it has allowed politicians to bridge the gap between parliament and the public. For example, in the run-up to the US 2012 general election, Obama launched Change.gov, designed to continue a dialogue between the public and the president it elected. It is also important to note that the political stance of the future UK government could be heavily impacted by the voting age in coming years, as Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn seeks to lower the threshold to 16 years old. This, combined with the younger demographic of its users, could make social media a more effective conduit for politicians to reach their audience. However, sceptics counter that the seeming idealism and left-leaning bias of young people is because it is not their own income that is on the line, and that they will move to the right in time. Whether you view it as divisive and dangerous or a powerful tool for political education and empowerment, there’s no doubt that that, come 2020, social media will be at the centre of the political arena as the keyboard warriors return, ready and raring to go.
38
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker