The Multi-Media Website

 Facebook and my political thoughts 2016

Mark Zuckerberg has had more impact than anyone I know for helping me connect with people from as far away as China. I think that without social media, I would not be as knowledgeable about the candidates in the 2016 election. Social media gave every person an opportunity to weigh in, question, debate, provide information, and encourage others to vote. Even though I am not from this country, I learned so much about not only the candidates but the controversy surrounding the candidates. It provided much more information than newspapers or TV, and I was able to see how people from Indiana or abroad thought about the candidates. I don’t think Mark Zuckerberg ever considered what an impact Facebook would have on politics. It started off as a way to connect people socially. However, the political posts I read over the last year helped me to formulate an opinion because I feel that Facebook offered me a more insightful perspective of what people thought about President Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Last year, Facebook had its political action committee as the way of strengthening its ties with Washington D.C that announced new politically themed apps. I was one of those who downloaded the My Vote app which Facebook created through its partnership with the Washington State and Microsoft. The app gave an opportunity to Facebook users like me to register and vote online and also to review important voter information. Facebook also had the “I’m Voting” app that was collaboration with CNN that allowed users to a public commitment to voting, share their political views and identify their most preferred candidates. With the advent of Facebook, the general public is now more highly connected to politics more than the past. Facebook during the last year’s campaign became my fastest way of getting any political news by looking up at the fan page of a politician who has posted the latest information. It is unlike the past whereby to find the latest news one had first to browse the Internet's search engines and online Newspapers. I was also able to interact one on one with the elected officials and candidates concerning the vital issues affecting our society by sending them posts on their wall or a private message. I believe that having this one on one connection or interaction with politicians is one way which citizens can immediately access any political information and further gave us more power as citizens to hold the lawmakers accountable for their actions and words.

 Also, my political thoughts were greatly changed in 2016 through the Facebook platform. I specifically preferred clicking on content posted on Facebook that was in line with my ideological viewed. Such content also included ads that renovate with my views as a voter. Social media specifically Facebook gave me an opportunity to actively engage in politics by airing my opinions and communicating directly with leaders of my community as well as their staff members. I also used Facebook to check up the profiles of political candidates as well as their political agendas. Through these pages of the political candidates, I found that they influenced my opinions towards the candidate for instance how the candidate interacted with other citizens and responded to their questions. I strongly feel that those candidates who used Facebook and other social media sites were my most preferred candidates because I felt that they were opening up to our levels of communication as the Millennial voters. Also, the comments generated by other Facebook users also influenced the political candidate's reputation in that is another person says positive things about a candidate then I too get to like the candidate more compared to the candidate who has been negatively commented on social media. The use of Facebook was also a way of determining who my most preferred political candidates would be.

 Facebook is one of the social media environments whereby I was bombarded with both extremely offensive and highly contentious statements on political candidates, even with the least effort on seeking that kind of information. I believe that such political arguments did encroach into my life whereby I got exposed to various political views and was forced into an environment which constantly reinforced these political opinions. Navigating all through these interactions was particularly difficult especially with the complex mix of ideas from my family members close friends, public figures, my professional connection and other distant quittances who many users and friends in online networks.

 I also found that the political discussions and debates on Facebook to be a regular component in any digital life for me as a social media users. I started to become an active political user and greatly enjoyed the heated discussions between candidates. These debates also gave me an opportunity to engage in such debates through the politics facilities and the social media. I was able of sharing my annoyance towards bad scandals against the political candidates as well as expressing a wide range of opinions through the political interactions taking place on social media platforms. I could also express my aggravation and annoyance in political interactions taking place on the Facebook platform.

Also, I got frustrated and annoyed with the overload of political contents especially on a matter that I did not agree. The Facebook platform gave me a new view on political matters of the United States. I saw many Millennials like me deciding to vote, and I felt for included and motivated to show up to the polling stations. I also became political activists in support of those candidates whom I believed were best subsisted to run for political offices in this nation. I could post slogans to support their ideologies and urge by friends on Facebook to vote them into offices. I was excited to be part of the political processes in urging friends to do the right thing of voting for the right candidates whom we could trust and those political leaders who could speak our language as the Millennials. The social media both Facebook and Twitter gave me access to political education and resources which helped me be an informed voter. I believe that as young people we can make a difference together and expect our leaders to perform their tasks by listening to what we have to say. 

Work Cited

Johncdavi. "Mark Zuckerberg at Startup School 2011." q=Ted+Tallk++Mark+Zuckerberg&view=detail&mid=BA8CA9280BB8D756DC51BA8CA9280BB8D756DC51&FORM=VIRE YouTube. YouTube, 30 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Wong, Queenie. "Facebook combats fake news with a new warning label." Chicagotribune.com.  Web.