[ot-caption title=”Minutes before the Democratic Debate in Miami on March 9th, 2016 where candidates Sanders and Clinton faced off head-to-head on live television. (via Peyton Elias, sophomore)”]

Taking part in the 2016 Presidential Election may seem rather daunting to today’s teenagers. Whether it is peer influence, parental persuasion, or the overwhelming presence of the media in the election, it seems practically impossible to escape external influences when deciding who to vote for. As exposure to election content increases, some PC students find that their initial trivial opinions about candidates have transformed into highly aggressive viewpoints; this drastic shift in opinion is highly due to the media’s influence.

The idea that the youth is highly affected by the media is no new concept. Today’s high-schoolers are the product of an Internet generation, and their source for information, whether true or false, is the media. On Facebook, CNN, or even Instagram, kids are constantly exposed to content dealing with the candidates, specifically Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Media users are essentially guaranteed to see a link, ad, or article related to the election every time they open a social media app around this time of year. Pine Crest students are taught from a young age not to believe everything they see in the media. However, it becomes increasingly challenging to maintain a clear viewpoint of what is fact and what is fiction in the political world when being exposed to countless contradictory media sources.

Since many PC students prefer viewing a short article or video to sitting through a notoriously long debate on television, much of what they find themselves exposed to is merely a snippet of the real story. For example, many students are familiar with accusations calling Hillary Clinton a liar. And for those who are not aware of these allegations, they can easily discover this information via the media, as the most popular Google searches associated with Clinton are “Hillary Clinton email scandal” and “Hillary Clinton liar.” The overwhelming quantity of articles related to Clinton’s dealings with private email accounts and deceptive behavior are enough to transform a previously unaffected citizen into a full-fledged adversary of Clinton. Many Pine Crest students exposed to the allegations against Clinton believe that while there may be truth behind the claim, the media is known to exaggerate. Junior Alexandra Folleco explains, “The media often focuses on one specific allegation against a candidate in order to make a front-cover story. Because of the ease of accessing these stories through Facebook, it is extremely easy to form a hasty opinion. I think that students should take time to gather all of the facts to develop an understanding of the entire story.”

While Clinton is one of the most popular candidates discussed on social media platforms, it is even more common to find discussion about Donald Trump on the Internet. Many PC students are exposed to media clips of him making racist and sexist remarks. Junior Hannah Cohen comments on the media’s role in this election; she states, “Even if you know absolutely nothing about politics, it’s impossible to ignore the statements being made about Trump in the media.  Whether this is good or bad, it’s certainly interesting to watch what the media is doing with the candidates, especially Trump.” The backlash toward Donald Trump on social media has been overwhelming, and this can be supported by the amount of shared posts and videos revealing his rude behavior. While Cohen sees the media presence as unavoidable, junior Huey O’Neil feels that “the media focuses on one topic, and blows it entirely out of proportion. I think that it would be more beneficial to the future voters to view articles about candidates’ policies rather than rumors.”

While some students wish to stay out of the political debate, it is practically impossible not to overhear political chatter at Pine Crest. Also, it becomes very apparent who students support even if they don’t directly mention it by viewing their shared posts on social media. While many students view Donald Trump as a racist and arrogant man, senior Joe Jareki sees the other side of the story. “It’s a disgrace what the media has done with Trump. I believe that the media should stay out of the debate and let the candidates take care of their own business.” Jareki stands behind Trump and hopes that students will take time to overlook media stories and view the real facts. Senior Matt Jacobs agrees and shares, “When it comes to Trump, the media is the only place that he is a racist. The media blows everything out of proportion. If people actually take the time to watch a rally and listen to what he says, they will see that he’s not the person the media frames him to be. He says he wants to build a safe zone for the refugees, not in America, but he doesn’t want to just leave them out to die. People want to say that he’s the most racist person ever, which is how the media frames him, and that allows candidates to frame him that way, too. It becomes apparent that his actual goals for this country highly contrast the media’s view of him as a racist.”

The media is a powerful tool, but perhaps students should be aware of its limitations as a platform for information.  One thing the media has helped with is getting students involved in this election; Pine Crest seems to always be abuzz with political chatter.  Junior Ruby He comments, “The media’s impact on the student body in this election is astounding. The amount of posts relating to all the candidates is extremely overwhelming and helps indicate the opinions of the students who will be voting in the fall.” As the election date gets closer, it is no surprise that the amount of media content concerning candidates is increasing. As these posts are practically impossible to avoid, it will be very fascinating to see whom Pine Crest students vote for after being exposed to the powerful platform of the media.

Sources: Hillary Clinton, Pamf