MUNCIE, Ind. — Young voters increased voter turnout by 11%, as 7.6 billion dollars was spent on social media advertising this year.
New reports from the last election show that young voters showed up to vote. Last year, only 39% of voters under 29 voted, compared to 50% in the previous election.
This trend in more youth voting in elections may correlate to the increased spending politics puts into social media. Studies show that younger adults consume more social media than any other demographic, and some experts believe they have been influenced by this post.
Professor Wegner explained, “Students in the past only saw information at the elections through radio, TV, and letters from campus. It was not uncommon for students who did not own a TV to not be very active in politics.”
Students at Ball State had a similar story. Many students claimed to use independent media for information rather than mainstream news. Young voters are less likely to trust the mainstream media and often solely get their information from Instagram and TikTok.
Muncie has opened up more than 20 polling locations this election season for easy voting access. Registration to vote for the election closes later in October. To learn more about registration, visit www.rockthevote.org.
Contact Tyler Grabarz with comments at tyler.grabarz@bsu.edu.
