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How Does Social Media Affect The 2016 Presidential Election

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The world around us is constantly evolving due to the increased emphasis on social media. Around the world, billions of us use social media every day, and that number just keeps growing. As a young adult, we usually imagine social media as being our virtual way to connect to individuals across the world through Instagram, Facebook, and even Snapchat. These three sources of media along with a vast amount of many others bring humor and entertainment to our daily lives. Our growing appreciation for Social media is redefining the global landscape. It affects how we communicate with individuals, how we keep up to date with the latest news, and how businesses and brands now operate. there is much more to the world of social media that we have not…show more content…
It is ambiguous that the 2016 Presidential Election has been one of the most publicized elections that our country has experienced. Both Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump used media as an effort to defeat one another. The true question one should ponder upon is how media affected this year’s election. Did social media serve as the Electoral College by determining the candidate who will rule our country for the next four years? Experts have said that this previous election has utilized media more than any other election. If you took a look at Instagram and Twitter on Election Day, you would have seen Donald Trump reminding his followers to vote for him and Hilary Clinton submitting her vote at the polls. Candidates can share messages with the public as propaganda. They do have to buy access to the reach millions of people anymore, the world is simply one click away. According to Lang (2016), two-thirds of 18-29-year-olds said that social media has helped them become more educated about politics. When Trump announced his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States in December, the news produced more social media involvement that any other news about the election. Trump specifically has used social media networks more than Hilary Clinton has. Social Flow quoted, “It's just going to get bigger in the main election. The number of free media exposure given to Trump -- whether that's on social media or more traditional news media -- I think is absolutely the story of the election. We've just never seen anything like it before” (Lang,
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