Social Networks and Elections: What To Consider for 2012 and Beyond

The New York Times wrote about a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on the role of social networks and the internet during the 2010 election cycle. According to the survey's findings, "one in five adults who use the Internet, including a growing number of older, conservative Republicans, turned to social networks to get or share information about the midterm elections last year" (Preston). In addition, the study showed that 53% of Internet users went online to engage in a campaign-related activity (watching a political video, fact checking a political claim, or sharing and discussing information).

The results of this survey emphasize the important role that social networks like Twitter and Facebook, and new media technology in general, are going to play in the 2012 Presidential Campaign (Aaron Smith, Pew Center). It is often said that part of the reason President Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign was so successful is because it used social media in new and innovative ways to garner support around the country.

Candidates are learning from 2008's best practices, however, and as another study from the Pew Research Center entitled "22% of online Americans used social networking or Twitter for politics in 2010 campaign" points out, "Republicans, who lagged behind Democrats in the 2008 campaign in some key aspects of social media use, caught up to Democrats in the midterm election cycle" (Smith). Furthermore, these political social media users voted for Republican congressional candidates over Democratic candidates by a 45%-41% margin, and Republicans' enthusiasm for using social media matched that of Democrats. Think back to the political organizing success of the Tea Party Movement during the 2010 election cycle, due in large part to social media. Therefore, the midterms demonstrated the potential and power of these online tools--two thirds of Republican and Democratic candidates used them for the first time in 2010. All of a sudden, "The notion that the Internet was owned by liberals, owned by the left in the wake of the Obama victory, has been proven false" (Patrick Ruffini, Republican political online strategist).

More and more people are turning to these new media sources for their information, but what is the quality of that information? 61% of adults surveyed agreed that the Internet exposed them to a wider range of political views than they might get from traditional news sources, but they expressed concerns about "the quality and value of the information they were finding" (Preston). What is more troubling is that 56% of Internet users find it difficult to differentiate between true information and false information on the Internet.

Alan Rosenblatt (Center for American Progress Action Fund) explains that this lack of trust is what drives people to use social networking sites: that is where they get information and opinions from trusted friends. But, if a person is getting their political information only from their circle of trusted friends, it is likely that these friends already share the same views as this person. By extension, if a person relies solely on social networking sites for their information, are they really getting a wide range of political views?

The major role that new media and social networking sites have played in elections thus far, combined with the potentially viral dissemination of true or false information on the Internet, mean that the 2012 elections--particularly the Presidential race--will be exciting, frustrating, and most of all, unpredictable.