VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Social media sways the youth vote in the 2024 election
Dillon Brendle: Yeah Jake and Luke thank you. Campaigns have been using platforms like Tik Tok to get to young voters all throughout this campaign, our reporter Alexa LaMalfa is in studio. Alexa, how important is social media in mobilizing young voters?
Alexa LaMalfa: Very important. I mean all the young people I talked to told me social media is the key to how they’re getting all their information right before they go to the polls.
LaMalfa: It’s no secret that social media has made a huge impact on this year’s election. But how important are these platforms for political campaigns.
LaMalfa: SU college student Victoria Gomes Collavitti shares why she thinks it’s necessary to gage younger voters.
LaMalfa: College student Victoria Gomez Collavitti says if it weren’t for social media she wouldn’t know what’s on the ballot.
Victoria Gomes Collavitti: Which is heartbreaking and you know it’s really sad that I’m not doing my duty to research because of social media that I was finally able to see wait who is this guy that’s on all the ads.
LaMalfa: And there’s a good reason why, social media experts say marketers target audiences based on their interests and age groups something SU professor and social media expert Melissa Martinez says can be a scary thing.
Melissa Martinez: Political campaigns are using it to sway one opinion or another but it can become a dangerous tool in the wrong hands.
LaMalfa: Right now, I’m outside of Huntington Hall which is one of the polling sites for Syracuse University students. And if anyone’s paying attention to the media, it’s them. Social media gives these users a way to easily access campaigns and gives them a platform where their voices can be heard.
LaMalfa: president of the Syracuse Univeristy Democrats Tyler Toledo says student votes can make a big difference.
Tyler Toledo: Syracuse is a school that houses 20,000 students. If ten percent of those voters voted a certain way, it would change the outcome of the election completely.
LaMalfa: Now, the Huntington voting location on the Syracuse University campus is open from from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow for voters. Reporting from the NCC News studio, Alexa LaMalfa, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The 2024 election may be a close race, but social media has impacted young voters all over the country.
Political campaigns have extended to much more than just ads, they’ve taken over social media. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns have been using platforms like Tik Tok to connect to a younger Gen Z audience.
If it weren’t for social media, some younger voters would not know what’s on the ballot.
“Which is heartbreaking and you know it’s really sad that I’m not doing my duty to research but it’s because of social media that I was finally able to see wait who is this guy that’s on all the ads,” said Victoria Gomez Collavitti, a SU student.
Social media experts say marketers target audiences based on their interests and age groups in all forms of marketing, not just political campaigning. Now, there’s more heightened levels of access to data, which gives marketers much more of a return on investment to spend more money on digital advertising. Whether the people behind the advertising are using these strategic content plans for a positive or negative engagement is up to interpretation, these posts gage a lot of traction from social media users.
“Political campaigns are using it to sway one opinion or another but it can become a dangerous tool in the wrong hands,” said Melissa Martinez, a SU professor and social media expert.
Activism goes beyond traditional campaigns from politicians, their supporters also use social media platforms to advocate for each candidate and social issues they care about. For this election there has been a record number of young voters registered across the country. Their impact and interest can very well change the outcome of the election.
“Syracuse is a school that houses 20,000 students,” said Tyler Toledo, president of the Syracuse University Democrats. “If 10% of those voters voted a certain way it would change the outcome of the election completely and that’s something in a presidential year when students might feel compelled to vote, and in a year that has redistricted New York 22. It’s important to get that information to people who don’t know about it because they don’t live here when school’s in session.”
Going forward, social media will continue to be a powerful tool for future political candidates and their political campaigns. Social media has a way to directly connect to voters and make content that is catered to them and their interests. Now more than ever the younger generation is paying attention to the media, and social media makes these campaigns accessible and gives them a platform where their voice can be heard.