Is Social Media the Cure for Political Apathy?

The presidential race provides a fascinating glimpse into Web 2.0 and social media trends. The race has many of the same elements of a commercial social media marketing campaign -- trying to reach a targeted group of people, engaging them with the right messages through the mediums they use most, and ultimately convincing them to buy/enter/sign up/vote, etc.

Although a wide cross-section of Americans is using social media, it's the demographic that is the most commonly associated with Web 2.0/social media -- young people -- that is being drawn to politics, according to an article Thursday in the New York Times. From befriending candidates on social networks and downloading political ringtones to submitting video debate questions and forwarding news times to friends, young people are connected -- not just to this presidential race, but with each other through social media.

“Young people are particularly galvanized in this campaign, and they have a new set of tools that make it look different from the enthusiasm that greeted other politicians 30 years ago,” said Lee Rainie, director for the Pew Internet and American Life Project. “They read a news story and then blog about it, or they see a YouTube video and then link to it, or they go to a campaign Web site, download some phone numbers, and make calls on behalf of a candidate.”