Third Way: The Age of internet
From Tiktok to X to Instagram reels, short form content has taken the digital world by storm; users of these platforms are able to get a surplus of information in 60 seconds or less. Amongst this influx, there is a definite political presence. But the question one is left to ask is just how beneficial this new delivery system truly is; does short form content make individuals better suited, more informed voters or is it simply the newest informational outreach fad?
Political propaganda in the modern digital age is less “Uncle Sam” and more “Franz Ferdinand”, with the band’s hit 2003 song “Take Me Out” being the backdrop to many impassioned 30 second ads for enlistment. This strategy is not unfamiliar. The use of music and trending audios to draw viewers in and romanticise military service is not the only goal behind this propagated madness. Another, is the influence of young voters.
According to research gathered by sproutsocial in early 2026, 30.7% of TikTok users are ages 18 to 24, 35.3% are 25 to 34, and the remaining 34% are aged 35 and older. This information shows that 66% of TikTok users are between ages 18 and 34, which lines up almost exactly with the widely accepted definition of Generation Z being those aged 14 to 29 in 2026.
TikTok is not the sole provider of this content either, in fact, according to a report published in 2024 by the Pew Research Center, it isn't even number one. This spot, according to Pew, belongs to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. X sees roughly 59% of its U.S. users stating that they “use it to keep up with politics or political issues”. This is comparable to TikTok’s 36% of users who said the same; closely followed by Facebook and Instagram who both reported 26% of users.
While this new method of outreach may be more accessible for younger voters, that does not necessarily make it more reliable. A primary issue with receiving political updates via social media is the presence of disproportionate political exposure. Social media sites such as X and TikTok utilize algorithms that track your likes, follows, reposts, and then suggest content for you to engage with. This means that if you interact primarily or exclusively with anti-Republican content, you will receive more anti-Republican content, and the same is true for the reverse.
With a clear bias being undoubtedly present in each person's algorithm and impossible to avoid, social media sites should not be utilized as a sole source for news, as users are often given a pinhole view of politics through their own ideology.
A paramount feature of the ‘informed voter’ is that they be, well, informed. Exposure to a varied range of political ideologies and perspectives is simply the best way to shape young adults into well prepared individuals ready to exercise their civic duties and responsibilities. Without this, there will instead be droves of individuals lining up at the polls led by their beliefs that the other side is composed of bumbling idiots, rather than their peers.
Political discourse will always be present within a democratic society. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, democracy does not exist without disagreement. This discourse and disagreement is not possible, however, if individuals are not interacting with the other side of the aisle. This is why social media as a news source can be so dangerous to the democratic process. Simply put, 60 seconds is largely not enough time to adequately explain the intricacies of a given political event. Additionally, many will not, even if given the opportunity, choose to seek further information beyond the short soundbyte they pause on while scrolling. Sandwiched between clips of bootlegged musical recordings and tarot readings, these news stories are quickly forgotten.
This is not to say that social media cannot be utilized as a resource for political involvement. In a growing digital age, it would be ill-advised for one to insist that pamphlets and the 5 o’clock news are the only ways to receive a truly well-rounded view of the political landscape of today’s world (especially as many news channels struggle with these issues of politically biased stick-to-it-iveness themselves). When used responsibly and in an effort not to simply facilitate the sticking of one's head in the proverbial sand, social media can be an excellent asset for experienced and inexperienced voters alike.