TikTok's entertaining approach to politics engages young voters, sparking debate on influence and polarization
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In CNN’s article “How organizations and campaigns are trying to break through on TikTok to reach young voters,” influencers and campaigns employ TikTok to engage youth in the political process, often masking messages in entertaining content. College of Information faculty member Dr. Jennifer Golbeck explains TikTok’s unique power to influence by maintaining emotional engagement rather than providing balanced perspectives, which diverges from traditional media. PhD student Celia Chen highlights that TikTok features, such as comments, play a role in shaping youth opinion as users often rely on feedback to validate their emotions or views on issues.
With highly personalized feeds, young voters are exposed to content that reinforces their views. TikTok influencers like Nia Ivy use skits and high-energy posts to connect with Gen Z by making politics feel relatable, often under a guise of humor or entertainment, which can resonate in ways that mainstream political ads do not. The hyper focus on engagement and the tendency of TikTok’s algorithm to create digital echo chambers poses questions about its long-term impact on political discourse among young voters. For a deeper look into how TikTok is shaping political engagement among young voters, follow the link to read the full CNN article.
The original article was written by Shania Shelton and published by CNN on October 22, 2024.