Rationale

Facebook was launched in 2004 at Harvard by then-student Mark Zuckerberg. Since its creation, it has grown exponentially and has become a social phenomenon with phrases such as “Facebook me” or “friend me” becoming commonplace slang in the English lexicon. Facebook has become the ordinary way to communicate with everyone, from one’s mother to their pen pal in South Africa. That being said, it was only a matter of time before politicians came to realize the political power of Facebook. By effectively utilizing Facebook, any voter can initiate discussion with a political leader and demand policy change. 

After all, this is the very nature of American democracy: access to political leader to demand change for our lives. Politics is all around and as citizens of a democratic society, it is our responsibility to stay well-informed on the activities of our elected officials. And Mr. Zuckerberg has provided an amazing outlet for such activity: Facebook. Basically, I seek to further understand how Facebook correlates political participation through volunteering, voting, and such. In addition, since most politicians now have an active Facebook page, I also seek to further understand how Americans attain political information in this age of social media.