Within the last two presidential elections, I have seen how much social media has effects on politics. Whether it was bashing the other side or publishing untrue stories on Instagram or Snapchat, it was constant and confusing. Overall, I do not believe social media should not be able to hold a place in politics. It creates an unsafe environment and polarized environment where people are scared to talk and have important discussions about our democracy. In all aspects, social media takes away the whole idea of our democracy.

One major issue that I saw during these last few elections was the candidates bashing other candidates on social media. To me, presidential candidates should not be posting information about other candidates on social media as it allows for a polarized and hateful interaction between parties. When their followers see this type of behavior from people who are hoping to lead our country, they are more likely to also act in this hateful type of way. Very recently I have seen many different examples of this on an app called TikTok. When scrolling I would see people doing dances with a Trump flag in the background and people would flood the comments saying things that the person who posted this was a terrible person. I also saw the flip side when people would post about President Joe Biden and their comments are being berated calling them stupid and a lot of negativity. Through this, we can see that social media should not be the place for political disagreements as it is unprofessional, and allows for hateful comments in the media.

Another huge issue I have observed in the media about politics is the spreading of untrue information. Because anyone can post information about politics on their social media, there is no way to fact-check. When the issue of Roe versus Wade came out, many people took to social media to keep the public updated on how the trial was going. However, much of the information was untrue and harmful to people trying to follow it. This untrue information allowed for confusion within the media. People were picking apart the story rather than stating all the information that came with it. This creates problems as people would repost it and it soon turned into large amounts of people relying on untrue facts when picking sides. While I do think it is important to have free speech, it is also important that the information that is released is factual and allows people to be able to gain knowledge on the topic. Instead, politicians were not correcting this information and allowed for the spread. I believe if people are going to be posting about politics on the internet then they should make sure that the information they are posting is correct and factual. If they are not checking that they should not be posting at all.

Economist.com wrote an article about how social media has affected the information released to the public, they wrote ” Moreover, politics is not like other kinds of speech; it is dangerous to ask a handful of big firms to deem what is healthy for society. Congress wants transparency about who pays for political ads, but a lot of malign influence comes through people carelessly sharing barely credible news posts.” From this quote, we can see that politics should not be considered free speech as it is not. It needs to be factual as it allows for a real impact on our society.

Through these different ways social media impacts politics, we can see such a polarized environment when it comes to politics. Social media has created an environment where instead of being able to able to listen to the other side, people get defensive. It also allows people to argue with emotions rather than reasoning. Arguing with emotions, and not facts do not allow for a constructive conversation. Carniegreeny.com talked about why the United States can have such a polarized environment, “This status as an outlier could stem from a number of features that make the United States both especially susceptible to polarization and especially impervious to efforts to reduce it. One such feature is the durability of identity politics in a racially and ethnically diverse democracy.” Due to so many different cultures, we have in America we have many different opinions that can be posted on social media. People can post their opinions on social media and get criticized for them. This hatred between communities can be seen through social media and politics.

Another impact of social media in politics is the media calling out younger voters. It was seen after the last midterm elections. We saw the news and on Twitter, conservatives shaming especially young women voters. A YouTuber named The Young Turks posted a video of Fox Host, Jesse Watters stating that he believed young voters need to get married so they begin voting republican. After this many republicans on Twitter agreed to shame young women voters. This is very upsetting because women are allowed to vote however they want. It becomes another problem social media has allowed to happen. Due to social media, people have been allowed to shame these voters without consequences. When moments like this happen when people claim women should not have the right to vote, it creates hate speech. It is unacceptable to hate the other party. In the United States, everyone has the right to vote whether they like how they vote or not. Social media allowed people to shame others and produce hate speech that does not fall under the Bill of Rights.

Social media has allowed for the use of bullying and shaming in politics. One major part of the freedom in America is the right to be able to vote for who you believe is the representative they believe best represents you and your values. Overall, social media should have no place in politics, whether it is producing inaccurate information or bullying the other side, the media should have no say in our democracy.

Works Cited

I want to begin my timeline of reading back to the first series I ever began reading. This was second grade when I checked out my first library book, it was the Magic Tree House series. To me these books were magical. It was the first time in my life that I felt a connection to a series. Not only this but this is also the series that got me into reading in the first place. I always wished that my tree house would one day be able to travel back in time and take me on crazy adventures.

Each book followed a brother and sister pair who would travel back in time to historic events that occurred in history. While reading I not only was learning how to better my literacy skills, but I was also learning about key points in history. I learned about the Civil War, the Titanic, Pompeii and so much more. These books are the reason that I still am interested in history today. I loved how much they introduced these historic events but allowed them to be read by a child. It allowed me to want to continue learning and not be scared of these tragic events.

Not only did these books teach me about history they also opened my ideas to fantasy. A tree house that teleports people was a fantasy element to it. For me being able to escape to a world that was away from the one I lived in was so important to me as it allowed me to open my mind and become more creative. I remember telling my parents how much I loved these books and how I wanted to continue reading until I read all the books. To me the fantasy element allowed me to look at the world with so many possibilities that I do not believe could have been possible without this series.

This book series is also the main reason I continued reading until the age I am now. They were the first ever books I read that I was not told I had to read, but rather I read them for my enjoyment. They taught me that reading was not just something I had to do because I was told but rather could do it because I loved it. This book taught me so many things, but the one I am most grateful for was learning how to fall in love with a book.

These years of my life were crucial to my development as a person and as a student. Without these books, I would have never been a reader. Instead, I would have been upset whenever I was told I needed to read, or only read when I was told too. I remember these books as something that changed my life for the better. When reflecting on the Magic Tree House series, I realized these books not only made me an excited reader but a more creative person in general. They taught me historic events and taught me how to be someone who could read for days.

Through further thought, I decided what my topics will be for both my passion and civic issue posts. For my passion post, I have decided to do the books that have had the most impact on me through my childhood until now. Furthermore, for my civic issue posts, I will focus on how the media has created such a polarized environment in politics.

Diving deeper into my passion post, I reflected on what I believe I wanted to write about. For me, books have always been my escape from the world. Whether it was childhood books or the more grown books I have read now, they all have an impact. By talking about these books, I can express how I have grown up with these books, and the different lessons they have taught me along the way.

For my civic issue post, I will be focusing on how much the media has created such a polarized environment that our whole democracy of America is really at stake. Through different ideas in the media, we have created a society in which people are threatened and bullied due to the different beliefs which people hold. Learning more about this will definitely help me when researching politics even for my own personal beliefs.

1. Introduction

A smile, something so simple that can capture the attention of so many. A smile is an action that can have a huge impact on someone with such little effort. So why is it people are so scared to do it? Is it the fear of being judged, or maybe more?  

1. Context/ethos

Many people have told me that I am a person that looks at the world with a half-glass-full mindset. While I agree, life experiences have taught me how to be that type of person. I will not lie, some days I do have bad days, but through these, I learned people have a huge impact on your mood.  

1. Thesis

I believe that you should always smile at the person walking by. Doing this can create even just a moment of happiness in someone you may not have realized could have such a large effect on someone.  

1. Preview

During my speech, I will describe the experiences that taught me to always smile at the person walking by.
II. Body

a. Cause, non-belief, Reason #1 

I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but one year I went to the grocery store with my dad on Thanksgiving Day. I remember walking around the store and realizing this older gentleman was very upset on a holiday. I just looked at him and smiled and said, “Happy Thanksgiving”. He then paused and looked at me and said thank you. After this, he gave me three dollars from his change, and said “thank you”
I never learned the old man’s name, or why he was so mad on the holiday, I just know that event shaped me to be the person I am today.

b. Effect, belief, Reason #2 

From that day forward I always tried to look at the glass half full. I realized that a second of my time could change someone’s whole day. From then on, I continued to smile, when I made awkward eye contact with someone. When I drive by old people, and especially when I see someone having a bad day.
i. Subpoints 

For me I wished on my bad days, someone would be kind enough to send me a small smile or wish me a good day. I also believe when I am having a bad day, seeing someone sending me a smile, can change the trajectory of my day.
III. Conclusion
a. Summarize main points 

One experience as a child changed the whole trajectory of my future. It allowed me to always try to be the most positive version of myself that I can be.  

1. Restate the thesis

These ideals and my own experiences taught me that I always believe in smiling at the person walking by.
c. Memorable conclusion 

Overall, through my experiences from a child to now, I have realized the impact you can have on someone even through small actions.
 

With the This I Believe speech approaching, I have chosen two ideas that I believe I can pick from. One is, I believe that you should always smile at the person walking by you, and my second is, I believe that losing is just as beneficial as winning. With each of these, I do believe that I would be able to make a valid argument however I am leaning more toward “you should always smile at the person walking by you”. I believe I could find a better connection within this topic.

For my passion post, I previously wrote about documentaries that I believe should be watched by everyone. Following this theme, I would to talk about books that became movie adaptions. However, my other idea is to write about the impact different books have had on me throughout my life. With this, I would go in chronological order from my childhood until now. I believe that books have really had a huge impact on my life and would love to further continue to talk about it.

Finally, for my two civic issue post, I have still been debating between two different topics. One is, how the media has created a polarized feeling between political parties, while the other idea is to explore how safety in schools is not a priority within the government. Both of these ideas I feel will allow me to learn and explain the deeper meaning of the way the government has created an impact on citizens. Choosing one of these will allow me fully continue to research the ideas that I have and further develop my own personal thoughts and beliefs on such topics.

I do really believe that it is important to know about current world events and how the can effect you on a personal level. With me turning 18 last year, during the midterms was the first time I was legally allowed to vote it made me realize how much more I need to learn about my civic duty.