Politics on Facebook

• Do you think Facebook can relate to real-world political issues? If so, which issues?

I think that facebook is not a serious enough website to relate to real-world political issues. It is originally a social site for college students and I think that that is what it is best at being. Bringing political issues onto facebook makes people just do what their friends do , and that is the last thing that anyone needs during an election period.

• Will Facebook turn into a war zone among students with differing opinions, where each posts falsities?

I dont think that facebook would ever turn into a war zone because of political issues. Like I said, it is a social networking site and real issues (to me) are not incorporated in it.

• Why do you think this topic was put on Facebook to begin with and do you think its creators tried to put it on there to make more people in our generation aware of current politics?

I think it is good for our generation to know more about politics, but I don't think that it is happening through facebook. I think that they put the option on there so that people can know all there is to know about a person through facebook.

• How can Facebook HELP or HURT political parties or elections? Do you think that some people will just go for a certain political view just because most of their friends have that chosen as their status on Facebook? Politics is not something to just follow the leader, it should be by your own beliefs and Facebook may be altering that by allowing these things to be right there in profiles.

I think that people that don't really care about politics will be more likely to take a stand according to what their friends views are, and with the views being publicly displayed people are more likely to take a political view that they know nothing about.

•Face book is moving with the time and 2.0 and we don’t like a whole lot of the changes. What does that say about us?

It says that we have become comfortable with what the web is right now. Constant advances are becoming annoying with our favorite sites trying to continuously update, when a lot of people like the original sites as they were.

•Is publicly proclaiming your voting preferences or campaign issues you are concerned with a bad idea? If so why?

I for one do not vote. I am not registered and I dont care enough to. It is not that I dont care what happens in the world, it's just that no leader has popped out to me enough to vote for. Therefore I do think that publicly proclaiming your voting preferences is a bad idea because (like previously stated) it will become a follow-the-leader type of thing, and politics should be about one's beliefs.

Facebook and Politics-
I really do think that Facebook can relate to real world issues and more specifically. Being a member of Facebook and one of todays younger generations I think there are a lot of people my age very intune to politics. Facebook is a great place to share ANY information, and I think its a good outlet, like any outlet, that lets younger people talk about their political views. Although it MAY turn into a "war zone" I think that is an exciting aspect of it. Free speech lets us talk about whatever we want...even on the internet through college online communities. Atleast people have these thoughts and are voting and doing something with how they feel. Hopefully it is all in a constructive mannor. I personally think it was a pretty cool thing that the creators of Facebook thought enough to add this to their online community. If Web 2.0 is gearing people more and more towards online communities and the internet itself I think there minds well be educated and constructive things to say other than "Look at my drunken pictures" or "I hate so and so, but I have a new boyfriend." Just my opinion...!!!

I'm sure in some ways Facebook can relate to real-world politics, but I don't think it's all that overbearing. The site's purpose seems geared more toward the social aspect of student life, but there's always the possibility for politics to play a larger role in any community, for better or worse. Politics always brings tension and hostility, but I just don't see it turning Facebook into a war zone; that would defeat the purpose of socializing. Since so many people are on Facebook, politicians are looking for a platform to aid them in reaching our demographic, which I suppose is why they implemented this into Facebook. As for how it will help or hurt elections, that's a toss-up; it could reach greater audiences and possibly increase voter turnout in our demographic, or it could do the opposite and deter students who are even less pleased now that politics has seeped into Facebook.

Facebook response

I beileve that anyone will post anything on facebook, therefore it does not surprise me that students are displaying their political views on facebook. Even further, It wouldn't surprise me if people began to debate about their beliefs. Those people who openly post their ideas are obviously firm about them and confident enough that they are right if they have the guts to post them where everyone else could see. If a person did feel this way and saw someone else's views which were the opposite, they probably would feel confident enough to disagree with them publically as well. It is becoming an apparent fact that the younger generations are not as concerned with politics, maybe this was an attempt of the creators to try and encourage users to become more involved. Whether it was or not, I do think that the groups created on facebook are probably making students more aware of current political issues. Facebook could hurt or help elections. It could help political parties because it is making the information more readily available. On the other hand, as stated in the question, one could just affiliate themselves with a party because their friends chose that one.

politics on social networking

I think it is common for anyone to underestimate the importance of the social networking websites phenomena. Politics on Facebook is a very real issue in today’s political world. Facebook has become an outlet of communication for the younger generations; and further the content can highly influence the users. Politics can be a touchy subject… you know, it’s one of those things you wouldn’t bring up at dinner with your in-laws, but when you are talking in an online community with people you don’t know- it’s a whole different ballgame. I think that the level of anonymity has a lot to do with how people talk about politics on these sites, such as facebook. People think that there are no real world repercussions, when in fact there is. By bringing politics into facebook, they are now reaching youth in a new way, and the youth can be highly affected by it.
I do remember when it was election week; there was a story on the news (like CNN news- the constant news channel) about a political figure being having a mock myspace, someone had made a profile for an official; and it was making national news! Also, in the same story, it was mentioned that there was some kid who stated on his profile that he was going to run in the election, and stated his sarcastic stance on some hot button issues… well this kid got a tremendous amount of hits- and there really were people who wanted him to run. He had even made a campaign commercial that was available to view on myspace- they aired it on national tv! It was this boy, who was in his boxers, drinking a beer- talking about how he thinks the government should be run. It seemed that what started to be a joke, turned enormous overnight. Politics are prevalent on social networking sites, and there is a lack of respect given to the issue- which may turn out to be more harmful than not.

Facebook Politics

I do believe Facebook can connect with real world political issues. There are many groups on Facebook which enable members to show their perspective on a topic. The war in Iraq has hundreds if not thousands of different groups. There are groups both for and against the war, and the discussions in each of the groups can get intense. Many people may not see Facebook as a valid place to post political information however for the students who use it, it is an excellent way to learn and discuss the issues which many believe today’s youth don’t care about. I believe that in the next presidential election Facebook will be a huge way for members to support and refute political candidates. I also think it will get very dirty on Facebook with these topics. For the last presidential election Facebook was still catching on and there was a lot of hostility among students on differing political sides. Both sides posted information some of which was true and some of which was false. I can’t even imagine what will happen in 2008. I think these types of topics are put on Facebook because it is a way to give members a place to discuss what is important to them, and it can show that people our age really do care what is going on in our country. Honestly I think it is very hard to change a person’s opinion when it comes to who they will vote for in an election. But Facebook will give a person who is on the fence about their vote the information they need to choose.
Facebook is just another step into technology. To get political information we use to have to read the newspaper and watch the news. Now we can go online and find all of the information in a matter of minutes. Facebook is just pushing us further into technology. I don’t think it is a bad idea to post who you want to win in an election. I do think it is a bad idea to post some of the reasons why. If you are for or against abortion there are a lot of people who will be against you, its one of the biggest debates in our country. I don’t think it is a good idea to post the reasons you’re voting for someone because you don’t know who will read what you say and there are people who could go crazy and stalk you (if they are completely against what you say). But that said feel free to say who you are going to vote for, just don’t do something that may get you stalked.

Will Facebook turn into a war zone among students with differing opinions, where each posts falsities?

I don't think that Facebook will turn into a war zone necessarily, however I am sure that there will be a lot of slander and falsities posted. This is one of the reasons why I think that Facebook can both help and hurt a political party. since so many people access facebook on a regular basis, at least once a day, things posted on facebook are bound to be seen, sooner or later. if a person posts something positive about their political affiliation it will be something that people will see fast, however if that same person then goes and does something stupid and is cited on facebook for something negative it can take away from the relavence of what I said.

My mother personally never told people who she voted for and said that it is a personal matter and you shouldn’t tell everyone. How do you feel? Is publicly proclaiming your voting preferences or campaign issues you are concerned with a bad idea? If so why?

My parents were the same way, they never told me or other people who they voted for. I think that it is unnecessary to publically proclaim who you support, however i don't see a problem with speaking about your campaign issue preferences. I feel this way because i think that it is important to tell your beliefs about issues this way you are proving you aren't ignorant, making your vote, regardless of who it is for worth something.