By Kylee Coney, Brittany Epps and Noelle Jones
Special to Howard University News Service
HYATTSVILLE, Md. — As dusk turned to dawn, voters gathered outside the Hyattsville Public Library in frigid 30-degree weather, awaiting an opportunity to cast their ballot in the 2012 presidential election.
With fingers tapping and eyes glued to smartphone screens to keep them occupied during their wait, many voters demonstrated the increased role that technology has played in the voting season.
And with President Barack Obama’s 20 million Twitter followers and Gov. Mitt Romney’s 1.5 million followers, it is clear that voters were very engaged during the 2012 campaign season.
Edward Reese, a recent college graduate from Chicago, said electronic media and social networking sites serve as a quick and accessible way for individuals to keep up with political news and to share their personal views in the virtual sphere. For example, political junkies can receive and contribute political information 140 characters at a time using Twitter.
“It’s a huge tool,” Reese said. “That’s typically how the younger generation and those that don’t watch or have time to read the news are getting informed about voting and about a lot of the issues that are out there right now.”
Recent studies bear him out. According to the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of American adults own smartphones, and 66 percent of those adults between the ages of 18-29. And the State of the News Media 2012 survey reported that 67 percent of digital news consumers with smartphones and tablets have gotten news recommendations from Facebook and 39 percent follow news recommendations from Twitter.
Courtney Alvarez, a lawyer and Hyattsville, Md. resident, said social media also can provide an arena for dialogue.
“I used them more to just kind of read up on what other people were thinking about the campaign,” she said. “But I did see a lot of my friends and others debating back and forth over those different mediums.”
Even though seniors are the fastest growing group on social networks, Raymond Harrison, 87, is not one of them. He said social media did not play major role in his election experience, and sites like Facebook and Twitter were more for his grandchildren.
“No, I’m not [active on social networks] but my grandchildren are. I let them handle that. I can’t handle it,” he said.
According to Reese, the ways voters consume political news is often determined by age. “For the majority of voters from other generations, it probably won’t even matter,” he said. “There’s only a small portion of the population that will really be affected by social media when it comes down to voting.”Despite age differences and communications preferences, none of the voters at the Hyattsville poll would deny the importance of voting.
“Every election matters. It affects your income, your well being [and] the economy. It’s very important,” said Stacey Weathers-Price, a Hyattsville resident and teacher.
Voters on the long line that wrapped around building didn’t seem to be deterred by the wait to cast their ballot for the next president of the United States.
“I’ve been waiting in line for about 35 to 40 minutes,” Raymond Harrison said. “And I’m going to stand out here just as long as it takes for me to vote. I hope I can make it.”
Obama supporter, G. Alexander Moore, an IT specialist from Durham, N.C., said he was just waiting to celebrate.
“I’ll be at an election party down on U Street with the rest of the crowd like last time, elated,” he said, “shouting and tweeting Obama!”
Direct Link: http://howarduniversityelectionproject.com/social-media-drives-young-to-hyattsville-polls-joined-by-elders/
The S.M.E. Project [2012] 