One does not need to be an analyst or a poli sci major to understand the importance of technology on the election. In the past 4 years there have been numerous innovations and technological advances to change the way the people in America stay informed on politics. Although this is not the first election to be effected by the internet, the changes in the past 4 years such as the mainstream acceptance of streaming television programs over the internet and conception of Youtube have greatly altered how we access our favorite medium of entertainment video, as well as social networking tools like myspace and facebook that allowed candidates to reach the youth on a much more personal level.
Up until this election the easiest and generally only way for people to keep up to date on the election by watching video was through their television set. Now with the invention of Youtube anyone with internet access can personalize their search for political knowledge on a site originally contrived to bring people together.
Nowadays a large portion of people get their TV show fix through their computer screen. TV shows with political biases such as Saturday Night Live can now be watched on demand. The implications of this access where realized at the polls when voters were asked what influence the show had on them. 2/3 of voters saw the political skits performed on the show, with 59% of those voting for Obama and 39% voting for McCain.
The importance of the internet in this election was not limited to the home front, I mean we are talking about the World Wide Web. The world view of America has been on decline for the past 7 years due to the Bush administrations foreign policy. The immense access to American politics for the citizens of the world through the internet is something that up until this point in history was impossible. People of the world continue to look to America and our system of government with envious eyes, and the world reaction to the 2008 election is just another example of how much our democracy means to the people of planet earth. One look at world reactions to the election show that the vast majority of people on the planet celebrated the election of Barack Obama as much, if not more so than people in the US.
2 comments:
I agree with you about youtube helping to make people more politically aware. I didn't know they asked people who had watched SNL and how they voted, thats really interesting.
I also completely agree with your statement that the new innovations of the internet have effected this election. I agree that youtube, now having videos of both candidates, and ad's all around it's website influence people. Youtube is such an easy way to watch almost any video and putting the candidates on it greatly increases awareness of the candidates.
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