I didn’t take to the Federalist Papers right away when I started to become interested in politics, public policy and law. I’m willing to bet most others don’t do that either. Instead, I took to finding my own political niche on Twitter.
Although I don’t share political tweets on my own profile often, about 90 percent of my Twitter feed is consumed by politics.
Now three years later, I am starting to fully comprehend how the focus on “owning the libs” and other social media trends have hurt young people who are interested in politics and public service.
Don’t get me wrong, Twitter and other social media platforms can be a valuable tool for educating and informing others about public policy. Unfortunately, however, too many people have used this tool destructively instead of informatively.
Instead of building up the leaders and policies they believe in, too many people, especially young people, use social media to tear down those who disagree with them. I see the necessity in debate, but I do not see the necessity in furthering useless stereotypes and personal attacks on people you do not even know.
Elizabeth Marshall | Argonaut
Social media is a valuable tool for many politicians and other political influencers, and I believe that it is important for those who are interested or passionate about politics to share their own unique perspectives with others. But, it is equally important that we share our perspectives in a respectful and calm manner, even when we have the added comfort of hiding behind a screen.
As a conservative, I also see quite clearly now how social media fighting has hurt the conservative agenda. I consistently see Tweets from fellow conservatives that have more personal insults than actual substance. I hate that so much of the youth in my party has taken to meaningless social media warfare — especially because there’s so few of us.
I would like nothing more than to see people have meaningful policy debates or use social media as a tool for asking questions of their friends who may be more knowledgeable than them on a certain political issue or topic.
There’s nothing wrong with being politically active on social media. But let’s do more.
Tweets don’t change laws. Elected officials do.
Let’s rally behind the leaders we want and push them to pursue better policy instead of pushing buttons on a keyboard.
Elizabeth Marshall can be reached at [email protected]