Whether it's Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, we all get information from social media platforms.
So, when we get the information, how does it impact us? Are we persuaded, or do we ignore it and scroll? Something that a lot of people share their opinions on is politics. Social media is a great way to share your views, because you can express your opinion freely without interruption.
When I was younger I would get all my political opinions from my parents, but as I got older I started to form my own, and I find my opinion is heavily influenced by social media. I also get information from my friends, but I wanted to hear about other peoples thoughts and their own stories.
When I was younger I would get all my political opinions from my parents, but as I got older I started to form my own, and I find my opinion is heavily influenced by social media. I also get information from my friends, but I wanted to hear about other peoples thoughts and their own stories.
When we are in our teens, we are nearing adulthood, and adulthood means voting. In New Zealand the voting age is 18, so some students get to vote while they are still in school. I sent a survey to the year 13s at my school asking for their opinions on how media influences them. These were some of their responses.
Are you voting this year?
Yes: 13
No: 6
Didn't say: 5
One of the responses expressed that they were very disappointed that they couldn't vote, and they didn't like the voting system.
How has social media affected your views on politics and voting?
The responses cannot all be sorted into yes and no, but these are the answers to whether it affects them at all.
Yes: 9
No: 12
Didn't say: 3
These responses were not what I was expecting, as I was thinking nearly everyone would say they had been persuaded, but all of those who said no also said it was because they do not follow any political accounts on social media platforms.
But there were a few who said yes. They said that they had found a lot of positive content online about our current Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Another person said it is interesting to see other peoples stories about a person or a party, in which they reveal some negative content about someone. Because of the things being posted about Simon Bridges and Jacinda Ardern, a lot of people are leaning towards Jacinda's style of leadership.
These responses were not what I was expecting, as I was thinking nearly everyone would say they had been persuaded, but all of those who said no also said it was because they do not follow any political accounts on social media platforms.
But there were a few who said yes. They said that they had found a lot of positive content online about our current Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Another person said it is interesting to see other peoples stories about a person or a party, in which they reveal some negative content about someone. Because of the things being posted about Simon Bridges and Jacinda Ardern, a lot of people are leaning towards Jacinda's style of leadership.
MY CONCLUSION
How does social media influence teenage views on politics/voting?
I think it depends on the person. Some people do not see any political pages on their media, as they do not follow any political pages. Though sometimes it cannot be avoided as occasionally there is an uproar around a certain issue that people will post about on their stories. Like the current riots in America, I have seen a lot of support for the blacklivesmatter movement, which is good to see. But it happens on lots of issues that are shared everywhere, so everyone does see a little bit about politics on their social media, whether they look purposely or not.
You do not have to follow a political page as such, because I do not, but find out information on some news accounts, like News Hub.
Those who do expose themselves to political messages, from what I've researched, do have opinion that are swayed from time to time because of what they see on media. So I think the opinions of teenagers are effected by social media, and it can change their views of people or parties. Though the students may not follow any political accounts, they can still see stories on their friends accounts, which may influence them too.
I think it depends on the person. Some people do not see any political pages on their media, as they do not follow any political pages. Though sometimes it cannot be avoided as occasionally there is an uproar around a certain issue that people will post about on their stories. Like the current riots in America, I have seen a lot of support for the blacklivesmatter movement, which is good to see. But it happens on lots of issues that are shared everywhere, so everyone does see a little bit about politics on their social media, whether they look purposely or not.
You do not have to follow a political page as such, because I do not, but find out information on some news accounts, like News Hub.
Those who do expose themselves to political messages, from what I've researched, do have opinion that are swayed from time to time because of what they see on media. So I think the opinions of teenagers are effected by social media, and it can change their views of people or parties. Though the students may not follow any political accounts, they can still see stories on their friends accounts, which may influence them too.
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