GE24: the impact of new media

The Guardian asks in a fascinating article if this will be the first post-mainstream media eletion

Warm-up/starter activities

1. Divide the students into small groups and ask them to discuss the role of social media in shaping political opinions. Encourage them to share their personal experiences and observations. After a few minutes, have each group present their discussions to the class.

2. Present the students with a selection of political memes or viral social media posts and ask them to analyse the messages and techniques used to influence viewers. Discuss how these types of content can shape political views, especially among younger audiences.

3. Give the students a list of mainstream news sources and ask them to rank the sources in order of how much they trust them. Encourage them to explain their reasoning and discuss any potential biases or limitations of these news outlets.

Read the article here

Questions and answers on the article

Questions:
1. How has social media influenced the political views of Zoya, Stacey, and Finley?
2. What role do influencers play in shaping the political opinions of voters according to the text?
3. Why are people less willing to share their political views on social media compared to previous elections?
4. How does the media consumption of older voters differ from that of younger participants as described in the text?
5. In what ways have news sources on social media changed since the 2019 election, according to Maeve Garner?
6. Why do participants rely on news aggregation services like Apple News or Google's Discover for information rather than print newspapers?
7. How has the nature of online media shifted, particularly in politics, according to Damon De Ionno?

Correct answers:
1. Social media has led Zoya to shift her support towards the Green party after consuming TikTok videos and AI-generated Instagram posts, while Stacey may vote Labour due to targeted adverts on Facebook. Finley forms his political opinions based on comments below Instagram videos.
2. Influencers have an increasing role in shaping political opinions by providing content that influences how individuals perceive political issues and candidates.
3. People are less willing to share their political views on social media due to a shift towards private chat groups on platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp where political discussions take place.
4. Older voters tend to seek out mainstream broadcasters such as BBC and ITV, viewing it as a civic duty, while younger participants care more about specific key issues relevant to their lives and rely on influencers or friends for information.
5. News sources on social media have evolved from sharing mainstream news sources or headlines to now focusing on memes and videos, leading to less conversation and debate compared to traditional news headlines.
6. Participants prefer news aggregation services over print newspapers because they provide a variety of headlines from different mainstream news websites without the need to identify specific outlets.
7. The nature of online media is shifting towards more influencer-produced content with less user interaction, making social media platforms less social and more focused on professionally produced content.

Read the case studies of the volunteers here. On reading the article and case studies, does the state of democracy, and the possible direction its heading give us cause to worry?