What can SNC do for you?

"The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy," said by Charles de Montesquieu. Is this the fate of our society where the biggest voting group are young adults who show the biggest form of apathy?  Or can we change this fate of lack of social capital with the use of technology today?  Young adults can be more informed and become more proactive within their communities with the use of Social Network Sites creating more social capital.  What can Social Network Capital do for you?

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Getting Involved

While young people make up a large portion of the voting-eligible population, they’re much less likely than those who are older to vote. The youth vote has the potential to be extremely influential in this country.  Many young people cite feeling as though their vote doesn’t count as their reason for not participating in elections.  It is merely a matter of time before millennials become the largest and most powerful group influencing future elections in the U.S. Unfortunately, not all who can vote will, consequently leading to fewer young people missing their opportunity to directly influence issues that might affect their lives for years to come.

Young voters notoriously dismiss the importance of voting, but their voice is an important voice to be heard in our society.  Key issues in every election increasingly relate to the concerns of students and professionals between the ages of 18 and 29, making it essential for members within that age group to educate themselves on political issues and take to the polls.  In the 2016 election, young adults who represent almost half of the voter population, were further split along race, gender, and education when considering key issues.  Conversely, young adults in the same age range are constantly using Social Network Sites at an alarming rate. 

​Social Network Sites appeared to be a critical factor in information dissemination, influence discovery, and potentially an important tool for mobilizing people. Social Network Sites have become very popular, especially among adolescents and young adults. Ergo, political leaders began to use them for their campaigns.  However, in most previous studies, there is very little research on how SNS influence young adults to be politically active.

To that end, I started using more Social Network Sites in class to  influence students to become more proactive in politics and within their communities.  As we move towards the 21st century, Social Network Sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have grown exponentially while voting has decreased.  

My capstone explores how to use Social Network Sites that can influence young adults to become more proactive within their communities and getting students to vote or register to vote using key concepts learned during Innovative Learning graduate program at Touro. 

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BREAKING NEWS:  Click above for more detail on how SNS can increase student participation in their communities in the 21st century.

Summary of Data Gathering

In round one of data gathering, after students used their Social Network Sites to read about political or social issues that would normally pop up on their news feed 78.4% of all students said they would register or are already registered to vote.   In round one it was also determined that there was a slight increase in students feeling more motivated to participate and more knowledgeable in social issues. 

In round two of data gathering, there were even more growth in the same categories found in round one when students focused more on their favorite celebrities discussing social issues on their social network sites.  Students were more motivated to vote or more motivated to register to vote, and more knowledgeable so social issues when their favorite celebrities discussed them on their news feed.

Click the link to learn more about my capstone process