Manytopicsthatinvolvepoliticsrevolvearoundtheuseofsocialmedia.

Socialmedia
canhelpshapeordestroytheviewsthatapersonmayhaveonacertaintopic.Societyhasmade
itadailynecessitytostayuptodateoncurrenteventsfrommedia,especiallystudents.Politics
arentwidelydiscussedbetweenagroupofteenagersanditspossibleforthemtonotunderstand
orcareaboutanythingthatoccurswithinpoliticsandelections.Theconcernsofsocietyare
mostlyshapedbytheuseofmedia,suchashowmanyviewDonaldTrumpasbeingahorrible
candidateforpresidentduetothewayhetalks.Togaugetheconcernsthatpeoplehold
personallyandhowmuchknowledgetheyretainaboutpolitics,ourgroupcreatedasurveythat
consistedofthreequestions.Wewantedtoobservehowwellourpeersinschoolwouldrespond
toquestionsaboutpoliticalconcernsandelectioncandidates.Tofindoutmoreaboutthese
questions,thewholegroupdecidedtogivethesurveytoseveraldifferentagegroupsandanalyze
theresultswegotinordertoanswerourquestions.OurbasicresearchquestionwasWhatare
peoplearoundusinterestedinandwhatissuesdotheywanttobeaddressed?Toworkthrough
thequestion,wecreatedasurveywithourgroupthatconsistedoffourpeopleandthroughoutthe
periodoftimewecreatedadeadlinetohavesurveyedatleastseventotenpeopleeachtohavea
widerrangeofresultstocreateamoreaccuratemeasurementofwhatpeopleknowaboutthe
politicalmattersthattheythinkaffectthemdirectly.Themorepeoplewesurveyedthemore
accurateourresearchwouldbetoanswerourquestions.Wecombinedourdataintoaword
documenttoorganizeandanalyzethedata.
Thehypothesisthatwouldbestdescribeourobservationswouldbethatduetothe
increaseduseofmediaandelectronics,peopleofyoungergenerationswouldbelessconcerned
withpoliticalmattersthatdontinvolvethemselves,whilepeopleofoldergenerationswillbe
moreconcerned.Youngergenerationsaremoreimpressionablewiththethoughtsofpolitical
mattersandcurrenteventsthatsocialmediareleasetothepublic.Informationthatisfoundon
theInternetisnotalwayscorrectlycitedbutduetotheeaseoffindinginformationwithoutmuch
hassle,peoplearequicktobelievethatwhatswrittenisalwayscorrect.Withtheincreaseduse
ofmediaandelectronics,itsproposedthatthemediawillinfluenceayoungerpersonsstance
onthepoliticalelectionaswellaspoliticalmatters.Webelievethatyoungergenerationswillnot
beasconcernedasoldergenerationswithinpoliticalmatters.Theuseofelectronicswillonly
decreasetheamountofpeoplewhoareawareofwhatisoccurringinsociety.Mediaisfocusing
moreonentertainmentnews,suchassportsandmusic,andpoliticalandinternationalrelationsof
theUnitedStateshavebeguntowaver.Thesupportthatpeopleusedtogivepoliticalmattershas
decreasedovertimeduetoyoungergenerationsfocusingonmediaandschool.Schoolisalarge
factorthatmakesitsostudentsareonlyfocusingonschoolworkratherthanwhatishappeningin
thecurrenteventsoftheworld.Theschoolworktakesupalotofastudentstimeandwhenthey
havefreetime,itspossiblethatthestudentwouldnthaveleisuretimetobecaughtupon
politicalmatters.Ifthefuturedependsonyoungergenerationstofollowuponpoliticalproblems
andconcernsmoreinformationneedstoberelayedtotheminareliableway.Withmediabeing
theprimarysource,abiaswillbecreatedagainstcertaincandidateseventhoughthepeopledont
evenknowwhatissuesthecandidateisarguingfor.Abiascanbecreatedbyanyoneand
everyonehasabias.Whetherapersonisawarethattheyhaveabiasandwouldliketobeneutral
withinaconcern,abiasisstillpresentintheirargumentsandthewaytheyspeak.Itsimportant
politicallybecausetheoreticallyourliveswillbeimpactedbyhowacandidatethatbecomes

presidentwillcreatetheirdecisions.Discussingtheseproblemsthatmediacausesandtryingto
findasolutiontoitcantakealotoftimeandweneedtobeginearliertocreateabetter
foundationofvoters.
Thebeginningofourgroupssurveyingmethodologystartedwithcreatingalistofthree
questionstoasktodifferentagegroupstofindanaveragerangeofhowpeoplefeelabout
politicalmatters.Althoughthequestionswecameupwithwerecommonlyaskedanddiscussed
withinsociety,wewantedtokeeptrackofthedataandcreateatabletheconsistedofour
answers.OurfirstquestionwasWhatpoliticalissuesareyoumostconcernedabout?and
examplesofpoliticalissueswereincludedinthesurveyincluding:immigration,taxes,abortions,
environment,guncontrol,andhealthcare.Wealsoaskedthepeoplesurveyedtoexplainwhy
theyfeltthisway.Whenaskingthisquestion,wewereworriedthatmanypeoplewouldanswer
Idontknoworwouldntanswerthequestiondirectlysowedecidedtoaddexamplesof
politicalissuestoourquestionasawayforparticipantstocreateideasoftheirownofpolitical
issuesthataffectedthem.Byaddingthisquestion,wewereabletoobservehowmuchpeople
knewaboutacertainpoliticalsubject,howwillingtheyweretofightfortheirviewofthematter,
andhowtheywouldtrytosolvetheproblem.Italsogaugedhowconcernedpeoplewereforthe
futureofthiscountry.OursecondquestionwasWhatcandidatewouldyouvotefor?andwe
alsoaskedforanotherexplanationoftheirchoices.Thissectioncancreateawaytomonitorhow
muchapersonknowsaboutthecandidatesandthepresidentialelection.Withtheuseofmedia,it
mightbeeasierforsomeonetofollownewsandinformationaboutthecaucusesthatare
occurringfortheirselectedcandidate.Itseasiertotellwhofollowsanelectioncloselyornot
throughtheiranswertothisquestionbecausemanypeoplearentsurewhothecandidateseven
are,usuallyonlynarrowingitdowntoDonaldTrumporBernieSanders.Alongwiththe
candidatesthatpeoplechose,theexplanationofwhytheychosethespecificcandidatecanshow
abiastowardsonepartyoranother,whilealsotellinguswhattheyknowabouthowtheelection
isgoing.Italsoshowshowcloselythesurveyparticipantfollowstheelectionandissues.Our
thirdquestionisOnascaleof110,howconcernedareyouaboutpolitics?Ourgroupdecided
toincludethisquestionintooursurveyasawayofgettingaquantitativecalculationfromthese
surveys.Althoughitcanbeinferredhowmuchpeoplecareaboutissuesfromtheiranswersfrom
theprevioustwoquestions,thisthirdquestiongivesusafiniteanswerabouthowpeoplefeel
aboutthepoliticalsystemasawhole.Thequestiongivesusinsighttohowmuchapoliticalissue
mayaffectthepersonasanindividualaswellashowimportantitistolearnabouthowour
politicalsystemworksandhowitwillaffectuswithinthenearfuture.Manyalsobelievethatthe
politicalsystemcantgetanyworsethanitalreadyiscreatingyetanotherbiasthatinfluences
theiropinionsonourgroupssurvey.Beforegoingaroundsurveyingpeoplearoundour
communityandinschool,ourgroupdiscussedhowweweregoingtosurveypeople.Howwe
decidedtosurveypeople,wouldaffectourresultsdependingonhowwewordthequestion.Our
groupconsistedoffourpeoplebutweallhaddifferentstrategiestoaskthesurveyquestions.I
decidedtowritethequestionsdownonapieceofpaperandhandingthequestionsalongwitha
blankpieceofpaperforpeopletowritetheiranswerson.Thinkingthatthequestionswehad
includedinoursurveywereeasytoanswerandthatwedgetconciseresponses,wewereproved
tobewrongwhenpeoplestartedgivinganswersthatdidntreallyrespondtothequestion.Event
thoughtheanswerswerediscussedwiththepeopleinourgroup,someoftheresultsdidnt

identifywiththequestionasked.Althoughthisstrategytookmoretimetocomplete,itcreated
moredetailedanswerstothesurveyandtheexplanationscameouttobelongerthanothersinthe
group.Anotherstrategythatagroupmembertriedwastoverballyaskthesurveyparticipantthe
questions.Theexplanationswereshorterandittooklesstimetocompletethesurveyandit
createdaconversationoftheissuesgivingthepeoplemoreopportunitiestochangetheiranswers
orlearnmoreaboutaspecificpoliticaltopic.Bothofthesemethodsstillworkedintheend,butit
seemslikethesurveybeingverballyaskedcameupwithbetterresultsthantheonesdiscussed.
Ourgroupalsodecidedtokeeptheidentityofthepeoplewhoparticipatedinthesurveyas
anonymousbutwerecordedtheirgenderandagesdowntocreateabetterrangeofanswers
wherewewouldbetemptedtochangethepersonsviewonacertainmattertomatchourown.
Theanonymoussurveyingalsocreatedabasisofhowcertainagegroupsfeltaboutthepolitical
mattersthatareoccurringwithinourcountry.Thegendergaveusextrainformationthatwe
couldusetocategorizetheparticipantsinhowmuchtheirviewsmatchedwithpeopleofthe
sameagerangeandgender.Wewantedtoaddquestionsthatwouldcreateavarietyofanswers
thatwouldntonlybeayesornokindofquestion.Thesurveywassupposedtogivepeoplea
freedomintheirresponses.Wecouldhavejusthadthequestionsabouthowconcernedthe
personwaswithpoliticalmattersbutwewantedtohavemorespecificresponsesandfind
reasonsaboutwhypeoplefeltthewaytheyfeltaboutthepoliticalsystem.
Ourresultshelpedtoproveourhypothesis.Intotalasagroup,wewereabletosurvey32
differentpeople.Ourdatashowsthatpeoplewereclusteredintofourmainpoliticalissuesthat
theywereconcernedabout.Immigrationwasrankedthehighestinconcernswithtwelvepeople
expressingconcern.Peoplewhoidentifiedimmigrationastheirmainconcerntypicallystated
thattheywouldnotvoteforDonaldTrump.DonaldTrumpiswidelyknowninmediaforhis
antiimmigrationlawsthatcouldaffectmillionsofpeoplewithintheUnitedStatescausingpanic
andopposition.Nationalityandcultureseemedtoplayintotheimmigrationproblemsbecause
thepeoplewhotheimmigrationlawscouldaffectthemostweremorepassionatetowardsnot
votingforDonaldTrump.Forexample,oneofthepeoplethatwasinterviewedandanswered
immigrationwasfromItaly.ShewasanexchangestudentfromItalybutshefeltstronglyabout
theimmigrationlawshereandinEurope.ItseemslikeherculturefromItalyinfluencedher
viewsabouthowimmigrationlawswerebeingenforcedintheUnitedStates.Anotherperson
whowasinterviewedwasmyfriend,whoisMexican.Immigrationplaysabigpartinherlife
becauseofhowherparentsandfamiliescameherefromPuertoRico.Althoughourquestionsdid
notconsistofquestionsthathadtodowithculture,ithelpedininfluencinghowpeoplewould
respondtotheotherquestions.Debtandtaxescameinsecondwithninepeople.Agood
percentageofpeoplewhoweresurveyedwereconsideredasadults(24yearsoldandup).Many
oftheadultswhoseresponsesweredebtandtaxeswereadults.Debtandtaxesconcernedsome
peoplewhowereconsideredtobeintheyoungergenerationtoo.Apossibleexplanationofwhy
debtandtaxeswasrankedsecondcouldbethatmanyofthesepeoplework.Asmoreandmore
peoplestartworking,competitionforjobsincreasesbecauseoftheneedformoney.Thejobs
requiremanyrequirementstoevenbecomeconsideredforacertainpositionsuchaseducation.
Withtheconcernoffindingajob,educationcreatesanotherproblem.Thecostofcollegesand
universitieskeeprisingeveryyearcausingmorepeopletotakeoutstudentloansandfindmore
parttimejobstomakeendmeet.Therearealsomanypeoplewhoaretoldtoorwillingmoveout

oftheirparentshousemakingitsomoremoneyisneededtopayfortheirlifestyle.Alongwith
thejobs,taxestakeawayabigchunkofmoneyfromapersonspaycheck.Therearealso
programsthathelppeoplesavemoneyforretirementnotleavingmuchforapersontosurviveon
eachmonth.Theseprogramsarealsobecomingproblems.Certainprograms,suchasSocial
Security,arerunningoutoffunds,soeventhoughpeoplepayfortheprogramresearchstatesthat
thereisonlyenoughmoneytokeeppayingthebenefitsthatSocialSecurityprovidesuntilabout
2037.Eventhoughsomeofthetaxesareusedinprogramsthataretheyretohelpthecommunity
andotherpublicprojects,somepeoplearestillnotveryconvincedthattaxescanactuallyhelp
anyoneratherthantakingtheirmoneyaway.Thesepeoplewhoanswereddebtandtaxesare
generallypeoplewhoworkorareplanningtostartworkinginthenearfuturealongwithpeople
whoarestartingtogointocollege.Theresultsthatconcernguncontrolwererankedthirdwith
fourpeopleexpressingconcern.Threeoutofthefourpeoplewhowereconcernedwithgun
controlweremales.Stereotypicallyspeaking,malesaremostlyassociatedwithviolenceand
gunsinsociety.Theseresultsseemtomatchupwiththisparticularstereotypethroughthe
statisticsofmoremalesansweringguncontrol.Mediacouldhaveaffectedtheseviewsduetothe
increasedreportsofmassshootingsaroundthecountry.Manyofthepeopleinvolvedinthemass
shootingsarejuveniles.Themajorityofthepeoplewhowereconcernedwithguncontrolwere
peopleundertheageof24.Shootingswithgunshaveandcanhappenatanytimeandmanyfeel
thatitwouldbewiseifthereweremoreregulationofgunuse.Anexampleofhowpeopleare
opposedtogunswouldbetherecentcasewhereparentsofSandyHookvictimswerelookingto
suethegunmakerofthegunusedintheshooting.TheSandyHookshootingbecamealarge
issuethroughoutthecountryasmanypeoplebecameoutragedthatashootingofschoolchildren
wouldoccur.Manypeoplewereinformedabouttheissueonsocialmediawhereotherswould
sharetheiropinionsonthetopicandinsulttheshooter.Withoutthehelpofmedia,notmany
peoplewouldhaveheardofthenewsasquicklyastheyhad.Thenewsoftheincreasein
shootingscouldhaveinfluencedthewaythepeoplesurveyedfeltabouttheuseofguns.Many
peoplearealsoagainsttheuseofgunsaltogether,evenwithpeoplewhoarecertifiedtouseguns
andarescaredofhowtheuseofgunsmaybeusedagainstinnocentcitizens.Sincethemajority
ofpeopleareundertheageof24andstillinschool,itcouldbethesimilaritiesoftheshootings
withinaschoolsettingthatinfluencedhowthepeoplethinkofguns.Healthcarewaslastwith
twopeople.Healthcareiswidelydiscussedeverywherewhetheritsataschoolorany
workplace.Insuranceisalargepartofapersonslifewheretheywillbecoveredwhenthey
sufferlosses.Lately,itseemslikeeveryoneisrequiredtohaveinsurance,healthcarebeingone.
CurrenteventsthatrelatetohealthcareincludetheadditionofObamacareorAffordableCare
Act(ACA).Itwascreatedasanalternativeforpeoplewhocouldntaffordhealthcare.Itsastep
tothesolutionabouthealthcare.Althoughtheactwasproposedin2010,theSupremeCourt
startedtoenforceitin2012.Theseeventsaretakenintoconsiderationaspeoplethinkaboutthe
problemsthatthelackofhealthcare.Thetwopeoplewhoansweredhealthcarewereboth
females,buttheywerefromtwodifferentgenerations.Whensomeonebuyshealthcare,its
possiblethattheywontonlybuyhealthcareforthemselvesbutalsoothersintheirfamilyas
well.Thetwopeoplecouldhavehadfamilywhowereaffectedbytheimportanceofhealthcare
orhaveseenhowpeoplelivewithoutit.Manyfactorscomeintoplayastohowpeopleperceive
acertainproblemandwhyitsimportant.Therearestillalotofotherproblemsandissuesthat
peoplemayfindimportantandpersonaltothem,theseanswersonlyaskedthesurvey

participantsaboutoneofthemostimportanttothem.Ifwehadaskedmorepeople,itspossible
thatwedseeashiftofwhatisimportanttootherpeopleandhaveamoreaccurateobservation.
Althoughissueswerelistedasexamplesandideasweregiven,someofthesurveyedpeoplestill
respondedwithIdontknowordecidedthattheissuesdidntaffectthem.Fiveoutofthirty
twopeoplewereclassifiedintothiscategory.Foroursecondquestionwhereweaskedwhothe
personwouldvotefor,thirteenpeopleoutofthethirtytwoansweredeithertheywouldntvote
foranyofthecandidatesortheyhadnoknowledgeofwhatcandidatestherewere.Manyofthese
peoplewereprobablynotfollowingtheelectionorhadnointerestforit.Whilesurveyingpeople,
mostofthemonlyknewofoneortwocandidates.Evenwhentheyknewofmorecandidates,
theydidntreallyunderstandorknowoftheissuesthattheywereadvocating.Whenpeopledid
knowthecandidates,TedCruzwastheonewhowasmostpickedwitheightpeoplevotingfor
him.ThecandidatewiththesecondmostnumberofvoteswasBernieSanderswithsixvotes.
MarcoRubiowasinthirdwiththreevotes,whileHilaryClintonhadtwovotes.Therewasalot
ofsupportforsomeofthecandidateswhileothershadverylittle.Inthiscase,TedCruzhadan
overwhelmingamountofvotescomparedtoHilaryClinton.Therewerealsovoterswithinthe
sectionofthirteenpeoplewhohadnospecificpreferencefortheelectioncandidateswhoshowed
distasteforcertaincandidates.Forexample,amaleovertheageof24hadnopreferenceforthe
nextpresident,buthewrotedownthathedlikeitifitwereanycandidateotherthanHilary
Clinton.Someofthepeoplealsovotedforpeoplewhowereinthesamepartyasthemrather
thantheissuestheywantedtofix.ForoneofthereasonsthatsomeonevotedforBernieSanders
wasthathesademocrat.Thisprovesthatmanydontknowaboutthecandidatesbutonly
knowtheirnames.Withthelastquestion,wedecidedtosplitupthepeoplewhoweresurveyed
intotwodifferentagegroups.Thefirstgroupconsistedofadults(peopleovertheageof24)and
hadthirteenpeopleinit.Thesecondgrouphadteenagersandyoungadults(peopleundertheage
of24)andhad19peopleinit.Withthethirdquestion,anaverageof7.8wasgiventothefirst
groupwhilethesecondgrouphadanaverageof5.4,soitshowedthattheyoungergeneration
waslessconcernedaboutpoliticalmattersthantheoldergeneration.
Overallourresultshelpedtoproveourhypothesisofhowpeoplelivinginolder
generationswouldbemoreconcernedaboutpoliticalmattersthanthepeoplelivinginthe
youngergeneration.Thegroupsresultsshowedthatmorepeopleintheoldergenerationwere
knowledgeableaboutthethingsthatwereoccurringinthepoliticalsystem.Althoughtherewere
lesspeoplewithintheoldergenerationwhoweresurveyed,theyhadalargeraverageonhow
concernedtheywereaboutthepoliticalissuesthatareoccurringintodayscurrentevents.Media
couldhaveaffectedtheopinionsthatpeoplehadonpoliticalmatters.Thehypothesisofhow
youngergenerationscarelessaboutpoliticalmatterswasprovedtruethroughthisprojectasa
resultoftheincreaseduseofsocialmediaandelectronics.Politicalmattersarentreally
discussedasmuchastheyshouldbecausepeoplearebecomingmoreconcernedwithother
matters,suchasthethingsthatarepublicizedbythemediaincludingsportsandentertainment
sinceweveseenanincreaseinleisuretime.Otherthanworkandschool,wedontfocuson
manyotherthingsthatcouldcausepeopletobecomemoreawareofwhatsoccurringaround
them.Ifweweretodothisresearchprojectagain,Ithinkitwouldbebestifweresearchedmore
aboutourtopics.Wehadntreallytriedtoresearchwhatkindsofconcernswereoccurringin
todayssocietybutrathercreatedourprojectwiththepriorknowledgethatwehad.Wewere

observinghowmuchpeopleknewaboutpoliticalmattersbutweourselvesknewverylittleof
otherpoliticalmatters.I,forone,onlyknewofthreecandidatesbeforestartingthisprojectbut
evenafterIstilldontunderstandwhatsubjectsthesecandidatesaretryingtopromote.Itwould
alsobebetterifwehadgivenourselvesmoretimetoaskpeopleaboutthesurveys.Wewould
havegottenmoreaccurateinformationifwehadsurveyedmorepeopleofdifferentagesrather
thanclassifyingpeopleintoonlytwodifferentgroups.Wealsocouldhavedevelopedmore
specificquestionstoaskpeopletoavoidanswersthatmostlyavoidedthequestionorquestions
wherepeoplecouldgivesimpleanswers.Ifthereweremorespecificquestionsasked,wecould
havegottenmoreinsightontheissuesthatwewerelearningabout.Wecouldhavealso
discussedtheresultsthatwehadasagroupmoretogetdifferentperspectivesonwhatfactors
couldhaveinfluencedthedecisionsandopinionsofthepeople.