Twitter is a popular online social media platform where users are able to “tweet”, an instant message of feedback, opinion, news, esc made up of 280 characters, and upload it to their profile instantly. One reason behind Twitter’s high rated success is because people use it as a substitute for tradition newspapers.  The app has a “Trending” section that lays out everything being talked about in your community and around the world.  That same section is kept updated by the second and because of that Twitter played an important role in the 2016 presidential elections. Donald Trump became infamous for his frequent use of Twitter and his opponent, Hillary Clinton, also used Twitter to promote her campaign and respond to Donald Trump tweets.  Today, almost if not all, politicians have hopped on the Twitter bandwagon to keep their supporters updated on their latest projects.  Twitters ability to keep communication up between users at a fast pace has made the platform essential to politicians.

Politicians can be found on all types of social media platforms, but Twitter is known for its unfiltered content and direct communication between users.  Before social media, politicians would draft up a speech and make an official public statement, but now a simple thought out tweet suffices.  As stated before, Donald Trump was a big Twitter user during his 2016 presidential campaign.  The minute another Donald Trump scandal would make headlines, millions flocked to his Twitter page for his next tweet.  A single tweet by Donald Trump would result in thousands of people resharing his words or responding to his words.  In “Media/Society In a Digital World” David Croteau and William Hoynes state, “Yes, our media and society are intertwined and fused together in ways that make it difficult to imagine them ever being seperated” (7).  It is hard to imagine a time before so much information about everyone and everything was easy access. Twitter creates easy access to what politicians like Donald Trump are thinking, attracting more to follow him and spread his political agenda.  Any politician using Twitter is smart to have a presence on the app because it has the potential to connect them to the same like-minded voters.

I would say that more and more young adults are starting to pay attention and participate in politics.  I have undocumented college friends on DACA, deferred action for childhood arrivals, that started to get more invested and knowledgeable on politics to protect themselves if anyone were to come after their visas.  This is a primary reason why Twitter has become intertwined with politics. Young adults, who show interest in politics, need a way to connect with the government and the best way they know how is through social media.  In “Mass Communication, Culture, and Media Literacy” by Stanley J. Baran he states, “No matter how we choose to view the process of mass communication, it is impossible to deny that an enormous portion of our lives is spent interacting with mass media” (16).   Since young adults already spend so much online, social media platforms like Twitter are used as primary forms of communication.  Personally, I use Twitter every single day and politics has been incorporated into my feed because it is in a form that attracts me to pay more attention.

Alessandra Ocasio-Cortez, a United States representative for New York, and Donald Trump are two politicians that are making the biggest roar on Twitter at the moment.  Currently, AOC has 3.2 Million followers and Donald Trump has 58.5 Million Followers.  They are both very active everyday, updating their followers on their projects and government business.  Although they only have a certain amount of followers documented it is highly known and expected that their accounts are watched by far more than that. I personally follow Alesandria Ocasio Cortez because I want to see where the democrats are winning and where they are losing.  AOC has a lot of respect on the Twitter platform because she is known for being straightforward and honest with her audience.   Another reason AOC is popular on Twitter is because since her words are limited she writes her tweets in a way that everyone can understand them, instead of using political jargon that would confuse readers.  With the help of Twitter, AOC spends a lot of her time responding to her online supporters.  In “Convergence and the Reshaping of Mass Communication” Stanley J. Baran states, “Digital media has changed what content creators and distributors know about their audiences because they have changed how audienced talk back to those source” (43).   On Twitter AOC has reached a larger audience than just her hometown, the Bronx.  She can communicate with people across the country, taking in their feedback or words of encouragement.  

When I first started using Twitter in 2012 I only followed my friends and favorite celebrities, never thinking once it would reshape politics.  Twitter gives anyone a voice to start and end online discussions.  It is a tool to not only politicians, but to the people because it gives them power to challenge politicians and their agendas by asking questions and following up with them.  When used right, Twitter has proven to be a revolutionary tool to whomever it is used by.

“It’s what’s happening.”

Thanks for joining me!

‘What if you could share your status with all your friends really easily, so they know what you’re doing?’ -Jack Dorsey (Founder and CEO of Twitter)