Political Use of Social Media

Part of President Obama’s successful campaign for high office was due to a motivated constituency who were active with social media. In 2008, there were about 50% more Democrats than Republicans stumping for their candidate online. Just two years later, that gap has closed. Perhaps more importantly, most party supporters are now using social media.

A Pew Internet study revealed that 22% of all online Americans used social media for politics during the 2010 campaigns.

In covering this report for Web Pro News, Mike Sachoff highlighted these statistical tidbits:

• The “political social media user” group represented by these 22% of internet users voted for Republican congressional candidates over Democratic candidates by a 45%-41% margin.
• Among social networking site users, 40% of Republican voters and 38% of Democratic voters used these sites to get involved politically.
• Tea Party supporters were especially likely to friend a candidate or political group on a social networking site during the 2010 election—22% of such users did this, significantly higher than all other groups.

Which all underline the idea that, while the motivations and use of social media may still be partisan, there is no longer a gap between major party use of these tools for political engagement. As we collectively develop our digital fluencies, these skills become a common platform for potentially escaping partisanship, too.

Back in 2003, Americans officially shifted to networked communication for their political engagement, when email became the best channel for political campaigns. Now, mobile devices are becoming increasingly important, with about one-quarter of Americans using them to engage with the 2010 mid-term elections.