1. Catherine Wiedman
Electronics & Elections: How Media Affect How We Vote
Published in ​The Whitetopper
As technology becomes a fundamental part of our society, the trend toward life on the
web has arisen to help make our world a better place. Yet the desire to live in the
personalized online community built by companies such as Google and Facebook has
created an unforeseen issue which affects the core of our contemporary political
system.
With the rise of online usage comes the rise of internet campaigning and social
media soapboxes. People are becoming less knowledgeable about political issues
because the internet bombards us with passive messages which support our own
ideologies. We no longer have to seek out information on social concerns; they can be
found just by browsing Twitter or Googling almost anything.
According to the United States Census Bureau, 74.8 percent of Americans have
internet access in their homes as of 2012. This number has grown from 18.0 percent in
1997. However, a Pew Research study found that the public’s knowledge of politics and
political figures decreased between 1989 and 2007. In 1989, 74 percent of people polled
could correctly name the current vice president of the United States; in 2007, only 69
percent were able to do so. The percentage of people who knew the name of their
state’s governor decreased by 8 percent between 1989 and 2007. The Pew study also
found that the percentage of people who could name the president of Russia decreased
by 11 percent from 1989 to 2007. Although the research is inconclusive, many

2. researchers have attributed this trend in political ignorance to the rise of online usage
as shown in the Census report.
A study by award-winning blog mashable.com claimed that 2012 was the year of
the online political ad. It found that campaign spending on online advertising
increased by a factor of seven times between the 2008 and 2012 elections. Mashable
posted an article in May of 2012, showing that if elections were held on Facebook,
Barack Obama would win the presidency. Given this data, I believe it is safe to say
Obama chose wisely when spending almost $35 million on online advertising.
In April of 2012, Intelligence Squared, a program in which experts debate
contemporary issues in Oxford style, hosted a debate over this very issue. Eli Pariser,
executive director of MoveOn.org, quoted a peer reviewed study which found that
approximately 60 percent of Google search results on the front page were personalized
toward the user. An example of this Pariser noted was that one person can search for
Egypt and see multiple results about the Arab Spring while another could do the same
and receive no mention of the Arab Spring. Consistent use of this influence on users
can and will have a substantially damaging impact on our political sphere if left alone.
These data support my claim that the internet is causing us to close our minds to
a broad spectrum of political views. Gone are the days of watching television debates
to evaluate a candidate’s platform. Today, countless ads are just a click away even
when one is not expecting them. Passive online personalization has replaced the old
system which introduced audiences to a wide array of political statements.
Now, we can choose not to be subjected to views which make us uncomfortable
or upset. One click deletes that liberal Facebook friend from college. Another click
shares a libertarian campaign rally. The internet allows us to surround ourselves with

3. political ideologies which support our own beliefs and make us more comfortable. In
today’s world, opening a browser is closing our minds.