November holds a lot more importance in the Unites States than gathering with family members, scarfing down turkey and mashed potatoes, and throwing on a good American football game. November is also election season, in which politically able people gather their knowledge or lack thereof to cast votes for political offices, most notably presidential. Several factors are incorporated into how the human brain forms decisions at all ages; family and upbringing, religious affiliations, economic background, age, and external factors like the media.

But how do millennials specifically being such a young voting group really gain the necessary knowledge to take on the responsibility of electing officials? Through several sources and studies, it is apparent that celebrities and social media have become highly influential on millennial voters specifically as a group. By looking at the effects of social media on the brain, the effects of celebrities on young people, and combining those efforts with direct research on social media and celebrities in political elections, it can be seen that millennial voters are highly influenced by both social media and celebrities in not only political elections, but several aspects of life, which is of importance because a multitude of this information is subconscious persuasion which all young adults should be aware and prepared for.

It is important to first dissect the influence and effects of social media biologically on the brain in order to understand a connection between politics, millennials, and social media. Social media basically allows people to carry out regular brain activities such as searching for information, conducting activities for both work and play, and connecting with others. However, these healthy brain activities are all taking place online and behind screens rather than in person. The studies behind social media and its effects on the human brain are endless.  In “Teens: this is how social media affects your brain”, the author even goes so far as to insinuate that reading “likes” and “shares” has become increasingly important and may even replace the learned behavior of reading facial expressions. The concept of “likes” alone has created a Pavlovian response. A Stanford study showed the brain lighting up in reaction to “likes” under a scan as a reward system in which the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that aids in happiness. Also, the Ted Talk titled “5 Crazy Ways Social Media is Changing Your Brain Right Now” discusses another study in which 5-10% of social media users’ brain scans showed some of the same signs of dependency as drug users. This has led to the phenomena of phantom vibration syndrome, an actual experience in which 85-90% of people experience at some point the perception that their phone has rang or vibrated when it really has not, causing constant “checking” of social media and phones. Social media has also been shown to alter appetite, change the ability to have independent thoughts, hurt self-esteem, “butcher” real life conversations, and cause an increase in spending. A study from HP Labs showed that within social networking sites, people were more susceptible to peer pressure. Furthermore, a German university found that a third of those surveyed felt either lonely, frustrated, or angry after spending time on Facebook. Biologically, social media alters the brain and ways we operate socially and physically as humans without our true knowledge of it doing so. 

In looking at millennial and Gen X voting, the recent 2016 election does a good job in pointing out several important points. For the first time in any election, the Millennial and Gen X block outnumbered Baby Boomers. Furthermore, it is expected that this trend will continue and only grow larger in the future. It is also predicted that Millennials will eventually vote at even higher rates than any other age group once the peak participation age is reached, meaning political education and awareness is especially important to this generation. Despite the outcome of the most recent election, a solid 55% of Millennials identified as Democrat when given a two party choice. However, it is predicted that millennials are going to drastically impact how the two party system works in the Unites States. The key differences are in the terminology. Polling in 2016 showed that young adults were likely to identify as liberals, but actually less likely to identify as Democrats. An example of this is actually on the opposite side in the most recent 2016 Presidential election. Young voters who cast a vote for Trump were grouped with the support of a Republican Candidate, but the growth of young adults actually identifying as Republican has remained stagnant with only a third of young adults holding a favorable view of the Republican party. These discrepancies can be accounted for because much of the young population has the belief that the two party system is not capable of advancing their views, a characteristic millennials are often criticized for. Young voters today are more likely to vote with identifying views, not necessarily the candidate under the political party they identify with. This means that as previously mentioned with social media, millennials are extremely susceptible. Research shows that millennials really don’t care to stick to one party over another, but rather whatever candidate they can identify with. This makes the social media presence that much more important. Politicians are able to reach young, voting adults, by way of social media very easily and since there really is no party loyalty, it proves to be highly effective in swaying young minds. 

It is also important to briefly address how celebrities and their social media platforms can affect young adults potentially participating in political elections. Celebrities are literally everywhere; commercials, ads, radio programs, television shows, movies. According to a study at the University of Kansas, the only thing that a majority of young people do more than watch television is sleep. Celebrities and public figures have proven to become a large piece of identity formation. Celebrities often become role models, giving them the power to become very influential on the development of young minds. Because of the frequency of television and its importance in society today, it has become difficult to discern movies and television and the people in them from the real world, especially for a developing brain. Similar to social media, celebrities can affect self-esteem and especially body image. The media often chooses to put out narrow ideas about how celebrities should look, ultimately affecting the way young people will see themselves. Because of the role model like status that these public figures and celebrities have, it is easy to reach a young audience through their platforms.

Combining research on how social media and celebrities affect the brain and development and millennial voting as a whole, it is also important to acknowledge sources that directly address how celebrities and social media impact politics. In an article from Forbes several studies and projects are presented to inform the reader on millennial voters, starting by introducing the Millennial Impact Project which is a study that investigated how millennials engagement behaviors may change during election years. The author focuses on the impact of social media and technology on millennials in particular. He writes about how credible sources have noted that politicians are stepping up their game on social media, including that nine percent of media budget goes to social media in a valiant effort to win over the millennial generation in particular. In another study, it was found that millennials are significantly more likely to adopt technology than other generations. Lastly it is noted the potential social media has to influence millennials through participatory politics, and on-going real-time conversations on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Through these platforms, both candidates and celebrities are able to reach audience fast, most of which are millennials who use the platforms. The University of Hawaii also conducted studies on Millennials and their voting patterns. The millennial generation is a group that aren’t as likely to be affiliated with religion yet are more likely to be independent politically. Millennials also are the most diverse and educated generation and the first generation to grow up with Internet, smart phones, and cell phones. In another study, 88% of Millennials said they found their news through Facebook. In the University of Hawaii’s study, “Community Matters: How Young Adults Use Facebook to Evaluate Political Candidates,” they found, that Millennials stumble upon political information rather than seek it, opinions are influenced by online interactions, and students formed opinions on candidates based on Facebook community-based cues. Other research has directly tied into celebrities and their endorsements. In the article titled “Do Celebrity Endorsements Make a Difference?” by political journalist Jennifer Tulumello, she ponders the central question of the research; if endorsements and support from celebrities make a difference in the way citizens are voting or viewing candidates. Tulumello discusses each side of the argument from which she then poses the argument of a “threefold” impact that public figures may hold. Firstly, she notes celebrities can rally a bigger crowd to events. Secondly, big names help in fundraising. Lastly, and maybe especially important for young voters, is the “buzz” in the media that celebrity names can create. She also mentions how celebrities are able to say things about their candidate of choice that the candidate him/herself would not. Tulumello goes on to specifically analyze Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Obama in the 2008 election, delving into how Winfrey’s support most likely drew up to one million votes Obama might not have had otherwise. Tulumello closes the article by utilizing Donald Trump as an example of America’s celebrity fixated culture and notes his “undeniable name recognition” and “deft manipulation of the media” as “boosts of his unlikely bid”. Another article, “Information About How Celebrities’ Political Activities Can Influence How People Think About Political Parties”, by researcher Anthony J. Knownes follows his research in which he aims to look at the reaction of people to the Democratic Party vs. the Republican party based on what celebrities made contributions to each party. He conducted a randomized study in which some of his subject were exposed to information regarding support from celebrities for political parties and some weren’t. Nownes discovered from his study that if people do not like a celebrity, and then that celebrity contributes to a party, in turn the person likes that party less as well. Knownes’ study also showed that if a politically active celebrity is endorsing a party different from a citizen’s own view, that citizen is more likely to dismiss and dislike that celebrity. YouTube and videos on social media outlets such as Facebook also are very persuasive and influential. In particular, the video “Important-Save the Day” includes several well noted celebrities who discuss the most recent election. The company’s claim is that they are “dedicated to the idea that voting is a necessary and heroic act” and “that the only thing that can save democracy is the act that defines it.” The video uses a more satirical approach when it says, “The only way we can prove that your vote counts, is to have a lot of famous people . . .”, said by Robert Downey Jr. The video also says, “You only get this many famous people together when the issue is something that really matters to all of us.” implying the necessity for people to go out and vote. This statement is quickly followed by “Or a racist, abusive coward who could permanently damage the fabric of our society” referring to Donald Trump from which the bias of this video becomes apparent. The references to Donald Trump and the most recent election in 2016 prove to be a great example of a candidate with social media presence and an election which had a lot of people involved on these platforms. Donald Trump may have the most aggressive online presence than any other candidate ever. This heavy reliance on social media has completely swung how politics works for both those running as well as all the citizens and anyone else commenting. Karric Harvey, an author of the Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics, said “Both the technology itself, and the way we choose to use the technology, makes it so that what ought to be a conversation is just a set of Post-it notes that are scattered…”. Referring back to social media’s effects on the brain, this confirms the studies that reported that social media causes social isolation and awkwardness in personal interactions. Social media has become a way for candidates to troll each other and everyone to see it. Other major platforms such as Facebook were even caught click baiting with harshly liberal bias, becoming a huge source of fake politics and news. The scholarly article titled “Celebrity and politics: Effects of endorser credibility and sex on voter attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors” by David T. Morina, James D. Ivory, and Meghan Tubbs walks through the recent studies of scholars on the effects of celebrity endorsements on politicians and voter perceptions. The three authors conducted studies expanding on research already in existence on this same question. Interestingly, this research provides contrast in that of the previous sources. These three researchers found that subjects of the study are knowledgeable and have formulated opinions on credibility differences between “high” and “low” credibility celebrities. However, in their study the subjects provided evidence that both endorser sex and endorser credibility have no impact on attitudes towards the endorsed candidate or his or her credibility. The researchers do acknowledge that further studies may be necessary and even acknowledge that other studies may suggest otherwise. Overall, the evidence that both social media and celebrities have infiltrated, affected, and persuaded young voters is overwhelming. 

Every time any person, millennials specifically, enters the world wide web or clicks “log in”, the risk of persuasion, particularly political, skyrockets. The innovation of advancing technology and media has flung humanity into an age of online. As technology and social media continue to increase in importance of society, it is crucial to educate young adults and users of the possible dangers and false statements, news, and images that exist. Stress on credibility should be much higher so that young people don’t look to their favorite reality television star or professional athlete for their political opinions without any further education or research.  Research specifically on how the brain works has showed that both celebrities and social media play a huge role today in personal development and influence the way young people form political opinions. 
