Why is politics today so different to years ago?

The political mixture of 2017 is unlike any before; what has brought this change on?

The world is always changing and reforming, as humanity tries new things and technology advances. 
But recently, this change has been focused on politics. 20 years ago, the idea of 'President' Trump would have been laughable; the Labour Party leader might not have survived this long, and the General Election results were far more predictable (10)
What has brought about this unreliability and development in the political world?

Google+, Facebook, Twitter, 
Instagram, Tumblr, and Whatsapp are the biggest social media sites in the Western World (3); almost 2.4 billion people are expected to use them in 2017 - mostly in democratic nations (except for China, which has its own social networking systems). 

This massive network of people allows ideas, opinions, facts, lies, and stories to be shared as quick as a mouse-click. Not even twenty years ago, politicians' main worry were the newspapers and TV News. They were slower and more manageable, which could be good, or bad.

Good:

• There was time for celebrities/authority figures/leaders to react to problems and leaks, because it would be hours, or even days, before news got out
• Information was generally more trustworthy, as the sources were easier to monitor and there was more time to verify facts

Bad:

• The news sources were controlled by a few select people (5) who could turn (almost) the entire industry against the Government, or the Opposition, or whoever they didn't like
• Governing bodies were more distant and harder to reach; Twitter now allows us to abuse them in a short sentence

But the rapid onset of the internet caught everyone - especially the politicians - by surprise, and over 2007 (seen as the dawn of social media) a new system of sharing information developed. For several years Governments and political groups fell behind as social media permanently transformed how news is reported, and how we view it. These websites means that organisations such as the BBC can display breaking news instantly (11), being shared and re-shared by hundreds of people a minute, perhaps millions over a day. 

This can be great news! Bad Government policies that might have gone unnoticed - such as the Tax Credits cuts in 2015 - can be withdrawn after intense social media pressure (6). 

George Osborne (who introduced the cuts) in 2015

This makes politicians far more vulnerable. This could lead to a greater need by governments to appeal to the people, possibly changing how they do things for the better. It will also encourage more of us - especially youth - to take an interest in politics, which might gradually form a more diverse government, fresher and better connected, with real passion and ideas.

It can be bad news though. We spend a huge amount of time on social media (7), which means that we're still easily influenced by it; 'it's' just online instead. There's a strong chance that Russia meddled in the US elections by having certain people on social media spread false stories about Clinton (8). The stories then spread extremely quickly, and probably changed enough minds to impact the vote. 

As Winston Churchill said: 'A lie can go halfway round the world while the truth is putting its shoes on'. Social media is the worst of this phrase, with exciting legend taking first place to boring truth. 

Trump's controversial comments during campaigning - whilst often immoral - got constant coverage online, and meant that people kept seeing him far more than Clinton, even in memes (above). This free awareness almost certainly encouraged enough people to cast their ballot for him, having the (potentially worrying) effect of making him President.

The connectivity of social media means that we have far more freedom and power, but we're also more visible. We can challenge governments, but then be targeted by them. Facebook has come under a lot of flak recently; they can monitor your political beliefs, and then sell this information to whomever wants it (9). The resulting adverts and posts specifically geared towards us could convince people to support ideas that they may never have held, and thus change the way we vote, and who you are.


Social media has given us the power to change politics beyond reckoning, but we must be careful - politics is beginning to fight back.

Thank you for reading! I wasn't able to cover things like Corbyn, the EU referendum, and the General Elections, but I'm more than happy to talk about them or answer questions in the comments. Do you disagree with what I've said? Let me know and we can discuss! 

Theo