Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on October 8, 2011
election – unemployed – students – internet – mobile devices
Political opinion-maker Charlie Cook, National Journal columnist thinks the next President will be chosen by Independent “swing” voters. I think the next election will be decided by two new groups of voters: students and the unemployed.
The reason they are “new” groups is that they became contenders within the last three years. The reason they will decide the next election is two-fold: 1. They have time to spend on the internet and 2. They care more than ever before about the outcome.
Students are social-networking savvy. They go to the internet as their source of information, often via cell phones rather than computer. If it’s tweetable, it’s readable. They have to start caring about politics more than ever because their futures are decided by people in Washington, and they had better care who represents them.
The unemployed in this country have become a formidable group of people. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September 2011, 14 million people in the United States were unemployed. It’s probably higher, but even at 14 million, that’s enough to decide who will be our next President.
Why do they have “time” to spend on the internet?
Unemployed people use the internet to do most of their job search activities, unless they don’t own a computer. And even if they don’t, Infographics reports that more than 50% of all “local” internet searches are done from a mobile device. When these two means fail to provide, libraries are a source where people can use the internet or other materials to find information.
In 2008, Obama used the internet heavily to influence voters, and it may have won him the election. The use of internet as a trend is only going to increase, so candidates be aware!