“Register to Vote!” The Influence Social Media and Celebrities Have
This here is Instagram providing voting information and helping those that can register.
November 1, 2020
Elections are coming up soon, and never before has there been such a fervor to vote. With many social media platforms, celebrities, and even The New York Times encouraging people to vote, many are hooked and caught up with this voting trend.
Most of us are not eligible to vote, but some seniors and teachers are definitely eligible. It has come to many people’s attention that everywhere they go online, whether it be Instagram or YouTube, there is always some sort of indirect or direct way of telling people to vote. For example, on Instagram, many people have faced an announcement asking if they have registered to vote. The influence of social media is a lot deeper than that though.
Social media platforms like Facebook launched voter information, which gives people information on the recent federal and local elections (insights). Snapchat too has features that help people who recently turned 18 register to vote. Snapchat also includes features on voter information and registration tools (insights). With not only social media influencing people to vote, there are many famous celebrities that are also encouraging people to vote.
In 2018, Obama and other celebrities like Tom Hanks launched a nonprofit organization known as When We All Vote. This organization helps Americans register to vote and trains volunteers who are interested in using text to reach out to other potential voters (insights). LeBron James even hosted When We All Vote on October 18-26 in order to encourage people to vote (people). You can visit the website whenweallvote.org and there is actually voting merchandise people can purchase off of this website. Another celebrity who has asked people to vote is Ariana Grande. She had posted a screenshot on Instagram of a tweet that said that she cannot wait for people to listen to her album, but told fans that they are “not allowed” to hear the album until they vote. Another popular singer, Lady Gaga, even wrote a song for people to vote!
Rapper Snoop Dogg and former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal also voted, which was huge news for many people as they both revealed that they never had before, adding that it felt great (people). Due to the big influence these people have, Claire Zhao (11) said, “I think it is a good thing that famous people and social media advocate for people to vote! Only 55.5% of eligible voters voted in the 2016 election, and more people, especially the younger generation, should vote.”
Although it may be upsetting for many of us that we cannot vote, it is still interesting and amazing how voting is becoming a trend, as it is so important. To whichever candidate wins, this election is definitely a very tense one, so make sure to let loose after the elections are over and hope for the best for our country!
Paige Reddick • Nov 13, 2020 at 1:08 PM
I love this article! It’s very important to encourage everyone to take advantage of their opportunity to vote. Your examples of social media influencers/celebrities utilizing their platform for voting advocation are thorough and very well integrated!
Suhani Bhanvadia • Nov 11, 2020 at 11:43 AM
Great Article! I think companies like Instagram and Snapchat are doing a great job using their platforms to influence people to vote. There is no doubt that younger generations are also more likely to vote in the future now that they see how important it is.
Anita Tun • Nov 6, 2020 at 12:42 PM
I think the power of social media influencers is a great way to connect to the younger generation for voting, love the article!
danielle huizar • Nov 3, 2020 at 8:06 AM
I loved your article. It was great how you gave examples of how celebrities are using their influence to get people to vote, and I like how Snapchat and Instagram are using their platforms to make it easier for people to register to vote.