By Emilia Calabrese
Correspondent
As the 2024 election nears, social media continues to play a big role in shaping young voters’ perceptions of candidates and critical issues. While it has helped to spread awareness about social issues and impactful events, it also comes with the increased concern for misinformation.
Compared to previous generations, there is an increase in young adults who receive their political information from platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X. Traditional media sources like radio, newspapers and television tend to have less of an appeal to those who are under the age of 30.
A study conducted by Pew Research Center found that of the people who get their news from social media, 48% are adults aged 18-29.
Judi Cook, a professor at the College who teaches about social media, believes that it plays a big role in framing the issues and connecting young users to candidates. She says TikTok in particular has stood out to her given its short-form video format, popularity and interactivity.
“Candidates are taking steps to engage directly with young voters because they understand how central these platforms are for younger generations,” said Cook.
Vice President Kamala Harris has utilized this strategy in her campaign to gain support from young voters, according to TIME. After singer Charli XCX posted “kamala IS brat” on X, a reference to her most recent album, the Harris campaign account header was changed to match the color and font of the album cover.
In addition, Harris' team has also made posts referencing a famous quote from her speech in 2023. “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree” quickly turned into a meme among young users on social media, helping to further strengthen her campaign.
Cook says she believes the candidates are working particularly harder with their teams this election to understand today’s social media environment and respond quickly to these trends.
“The end goal is to translate social media interaction and engagement into actual votes,” said Cook. “Getting young voters to the polls is critical for these campaigns to be successful.”
What makes this type of interaction so appealing and authentic is strong visual action, calls to action, clear messaging and humor, according to Cook.
“Addressing issues that are of concern to young voters are also critical,” said Cook.
While using social media has helped to gain support for candidates, it has also increased civic engagement beyond just voting.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center study, social media has altered the way young voters engage and respond with civic and political activities. About one-third of social media users have taken part in a group that shares an interest in an issue or cause.
“It has provided young people with ways of organizing and taking action on the issues they care about,” Cook said. “Spreading awareness, organizing events and meetups, sharing information on how to take action are all examples of the power of social media to address social issues.”
Sophomore marketing major and social media influencer Olivia Falletta believes that social media has changed the way young voters engage with political issues.
“Social media allows for more information to be spread in both good ways and bad ways,” said Falletta.
According to a 2023 article by the Anti-Defamation League, misinformation on social media could threaten the integrity of the election. When politicians promote things like conspiracies, it could undermine public trust in the democratic processes, normalize baseline challenges to election outcomes and incite violence.
“Young voters are able to have more information about the candidates, but false information can spread more quickly,” Falletta said.
Since the 2020 election, there has been a prevalence of Artificial Intelligence, which is now altering the way public messages are being distributed about candidates and the electoral process.
The Campaign Legal Center has highlighted the danger of political ads on social media that use AI technology to generate realistic false content. These ads could contain media that depicts people doing or saying things that did not happen in order to mislead voters.
Cook says that although we will need to be a few months past the election and look back to fully understand the impact of social media on young voters, engagement matters only if voters get to the polls.
“I hope the trend we witness is that young people on social media feel informed and empowered, and take the time to go vote,” said Cook.
