If you log onto Twitter, YouTube, or any type of social media, you are going to see something about politics. It is easy to gain access to news and politics with the use of social media. People have differing views on the same political topics, and it often leads to high sensitivity and arguments. There is often the idea of “I’m right, you’re wrong”. Our generation wants to make a change by getting involved in politics, and that’s great, but we’re going about it in the wrong way.
Humans are naturally defensive beings. The whole “right and wrong” idea is simply a part of us, but we are taking things too far. Students get agitated about the label of Republican or Democrat, and we judge others’ political views. This can foster online bullying and ignorance. We aren’t being educated in politics properly. People see a news article on Twitter, and suddenly our opinions are swayed. We hear our parents’ beliefs and are easily influenced by them, rather than forming our own beliefs.
To make things worse, most people do not get the full story when it comes to politics. The news is biased, and with the convenience of social media, we are more likely to gain our political opinions based on others’ biased opinions. In a study done in 2018 by the Pew Research Center, 68% of people get their news from social media, but 57% of people believe that their news is inaccurate. Despite the majority believing that most news is inaccurate, many people believe it anyway.
There is always talk about the “boomers” and “Gen Z” and the conflict between the two generations. The “boomers” blame the new generation for messing up the world and “Gen Z” does the same. We often believe that it is our responsibility to fix the world, but how can we do that if we’re fighting with one another because of our biased political views? We should acknowledge both sides before making a decision. Why does it matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican? That doesn’t affect one’s character, so why judge someone because of it?
An anonymous HHS student states that the “majority of students base their opinions on emotion. I have been judged for my political opinion even though I try to remain as objective and educated as possible. Kids are stuck on one side and attack others, mainly making fun of people. They are also really sensitive about certain issues.”
Political Science student, senior Saarah Baig agrees with the high levels of sensitivity: “As political sensitivities grow higher as well as political divisions, sensitivity can become a problem. Although I have never been personally attacked, there have been signs of aggression in heated debates. I try to have all my facts to argue, but emotions are what drive the conversations.”
Another student, senior Erik Ozkaptan, said that most friend groups do not have heated debates because they have friend cliques that agree on the same topic and most debate happens between people who do not talk to each other frequently.
The most important thing to talk about isn’t who someone is and who they vote for, but why they vote for that person and how they get their information. If we fix the information, maybe we can fix some of the growing sensitivity today. It will never go away, but we have to stop attacking and making fun of people because of one fact you heard somewhere on the internet. Moral of the story: get all the facts first before making an opinion that could hurt so many people around you.
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