When college students see the words “Big Bird,” “binders full of women” and “bayonets” associated with the elections, they might be more inclined to take an interest.

“Big Bird is a gateway drug to the political debates,” said William Ward, a professor of social media.

Ward made this observation based on feedback from students in his mass communications in society class. After seeing a Big Bird meme mocking former Gov. Mitt Romney’s suggestion to stop funding PBS, the students were inspired to research the issue in depth.

Twitter and Facebook fuel political debate and discussion, and students are caught in the crossfire. Many of Ward’s students have seen material online that motivates them to further investigate the issues.

Romney’s Big Bird comment inspired 135,332 tweets per minute during the debate, The Boston Globe reported Monday. Candidates now face the pressure of fact checkers and voters live tweeting during debates, and voters must learn to differentiate opinions and fact in the digital world.

Social media experts, such as Ward, recognize this as the first election based in social media. During the 2008 election, Twitter was only two years old. Four years later, Twitter has gone from 6 million users tweeting 300,000 times per day to 500 million users who account for more than 400 million tweets per day, according to an Aug. 3 Newsday article, written by Ward.

Anthony Rotolo, an assistant professor of practice who teaches a class on social media and the election, said he sees how new media outlets affect politics.

“This is the first social media election. We talked about (social media) in 2008 because the Obama campaign was really ahead,” Rotolo said. “What they were doing was way beyond what Fortune 500 companies were doing with social media; in fact, it is still ahead of what many companies are doing with social media.”

With more than 21 million Twitter followers, the Obama campaign has gained a huge following during the past four years. Because the Romney campaign had a later start in the Twitter world, it has just over 1 million followers, but is still successfully utilizing social media, Rotolo said.

“Truth is, Romney’s campaign is using many of the same tactics that the Obama campaign is currently using,” he said.

The candidates use social media to do everything from gain voter support to collect campaign donations. Rotolo said he even received a direct message from Obama’s Twitter account.

Situations like Rotolo’s lead social media experts to question how verified Twitter accounts judge the quality versus quantity of followers. Ward said both Romney and Obama have been accused of purchasing and accessing fake Twitter accounts to boost their follower numbers.

Using social media, like any other campaign tactic, can only be considered effective if doing so makes people get out and vote, Rotolo said.

“It is yet to be seen whether Twitter or Facebook can get people to the polls,” he said.

Ward compared the prevalence of social media to the changes inspired by the introduction of cable news channels; the 24-hour news cycle is now the 20-minute news cycle. This means within minutes, information can be spread through retweets, live tweets and Facebook statuses.

David Rosen, a master’s student in the School of Information Studies who takes Rotolo’s class, said he thinks social media platforms have encouraged people to follow the debates.

“The whole idea of a second screen is definitely happening,” he said. “People are following the debates on TV, but also following it on Twitter.”

Ward said he believes the increased use of social media has drawn many people, particularly college students, into the election who would not have been inclined to be involved without it.

Chelsea Orcutt, a senior public relations and political science major who is also in Rotolo’s class, said she feels social media platforms make students more aware of political issues and that it provides numerous outlets to retrieve information from, regardless of party affiliation.

Orcutt and Rosen, along with the other 123 students in Rotolo’s class, participate in mock debates and actively evaluate news sources in social media.

“The class has helped me to determine what is credible and not credible,” Orcutt said. “It has helped me shape my social media consumption habits to make sure I am getting only the most accurate information.”

Social media platforms are a great source for debate, discussion and information, Rotolo said. Though they may not change a person’s mind on the issues, they provide insight to questions.

Said Rotolo: “I wouldn’t say social media are suddenly opening people’s eyes to the right choice for president, or something like that, but it is definitely a useful tool to try to make a decision.”

Published on November 6, 2012 at 2:55 am

Contact Marissa: mjblanch@syr.edu