“YOU THINK YOU FELL OUT A COCONUT TREE?” said Kamala Harris, an infamous phrase from her 2024 campaign you may have heard being thrown around on your TikTok for-you-page.
Candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are promoting their 2024 election campaigns by posting relatable memes on popular social medias to attract a diverse crowd of voters.
“I think there’s probably a huge percentage of the American public where memes and social media totally affect the way they vote because they don’t take voting seriously.” teacher Shaun Behrens said.
While this campaign strategy can be seen between both candidates, it’s primarily seen amongst Harris’ marketing team, Harris HQ. However, this can backfire. alter citizens perception of this candidate.
“I’ve never thought about that, but low-key yeah. It’s nice seeing that you could be in politics and still not take everything super seriously,” junior Akira Irwin said. “At the same time, if you’re trying to break the stigma of just having women in politics, I feel like it’s not the best approach.”
While this approach may attract and even excite young voters, it disproportionately excludes the elder voters of our nation, who may lack media access or be uneducated about internet.
How can we close the gap between these two prominent groups of voters? By simple communication, education, and structured conversations.
“I think the best way to speak to both of them is just having conversations,” Irwin said.
“If you have honest conversations with both the older generations and the younger generations and put those conversations out there. Just having real conversations and asking the hard questions.”
When we think of influencers, we imagine beautiful people with lifestyles far from reach to ordinary people like us. It seems like these two politicians are the new hot influencers of 2024.
Do these posts have enough power to influence the general public? Can you influence your caste in the ballot?
“I’m sure they influence young voters just like they influence old voters. They make no difference to my decisions in politics,” Behrens said. “I follow politics like most people follow sports. I’m very passionate about it. I get my views from variety of sources and mainstream media has done nothing but disappoint me for like the past nine years.”
We’ve heard plenty about Harris and her political influence in social media, but there’s a rising problem amongst young, predominantly male, republicans. The “alt right community” is a fast-growing conservative community that’s arguably growing indirectly from Donald Trump’s influence. Does this online-based pipeline have the power to radicalize young voters?
“I feel sad for the typical young male voter. They’re disenfranchised. They are struggling in education and with employment and even in the military,” Behrens said. “It seems like the only outlet they have is neo-fascist propaganda that’s pitched to them on a daily basis.”