The Impact of Social Media Connections on American Politics

In the recent past, technology, particularly social media has reshaped the way people interact, bringing one another close and forming a more united society. Social networking sites connect people and give them an opportunity to interact with members of their network of acquaintances, co-workers, and family as well. Statistics show that approximately 77% of U. S. Americans have a social media profile with a majority of being on Facebook. Despite the fact that the USA is regarded as a country divided between rural and urban areas, coasts and heartland; our social lives are not deterred by factors like distance among others. On that background, the paper shall delve on analyzing the average person's social media connections in Baltimore County compared with Milwaukee County as well as interrogating the impact of social media connections on American politics.

Baltimore County is found in the state of Maryland and is the third most populous county at an estimated 832, 468 in 2017. The county acts as home to a diversified economy with a major focus on healthcare, education, and government. Additionally, it is home to a number of major institutions of higher education in the United States which include Stevenson University, Goutier College, Towson University, and the University of Maryland. Remarkably, the aforementioned institutions contribute heavily to the statistics concerning the average person’s social media connections in the county.

The article “How Connected Is Your Community to Everywhere Else in America?” by Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui categorizes Baltimore’s individual level of social connectivity as one that belongs to where networks reach far. Baltimore County neighbors the Washington DC, the U. S. capital which is viewed as a magnet for college graduates produced by major state universities such as the University of Maryland (Badger and Quoctrung). As such, it is easy to say that the average person's social media connectivity amongst the residents of Baltimore County as one that is anchored on education.

Milwaukee County is located in the city of Wisconsin and is estimated to be home to 595, 351 people whose average age is 32 years meaning it is a population largely constituted of young people who are likely to have a social media profile. Like most other urban counties in the U. S. , people living within Milwaukee are likely to be separated by just four other people from a social media point of view. Compared to Baltimore, the degree of separation in Milwaukee is low by one person to the former’s three (Badger and Quoctrung). The reason behind the disparity might be caused by Baltimore’s closeness to the country’s capital among others. Bui and Badger in the article categorize Milwaukee’s social media networking average per person as one that is shaped by history. The county’s population is disproportionally connected majorly because it was affected by decades-old migration patterns.

Arguably, social media connections have revamped modern U. S. politics compared to the yesteryears. Politicians have found social platforms to be providing them with a compelling environment for gathering news and starting discussions concerning their area of representation. Baltimore being a county heavily influenced by the neighboring Washington DC has seen politicians using social media to address unemployment issues extensively with the aim reaching the young graduates looking for jobs who form the biggest chunk of the electorate (Badger and Quoctrung). Research shows that people are likely to talk their hearts out about political affairs, which would not be the case if they were asked to say in person.