Pitfalls of Online Politics
If you missed the latest GOP debate when it aired live on television, don’t worry because these days you can stream just about anything that appears on television, even news, to your computer, smartphone or tablet. Taking full advantage of such streaming options is often as easy as upgrading a media player and having a fast Internet network service. If you’re interested in following politics, keep in mind these tips to avoid the pitfalls of being an online political fanatic.
News websites tend to break down lengthy news events, such as an hour-long political debate, into a series of three or four minute clips. When watching these clips via your smartphone, you might hear a candidate say something dumb or offensive that is often taken out of context. So remember, context is king.
Keep in mind that news websites love sound bites because they work very well with our increasingly short attention spans. In this busy world, we’re always in a hurry to get the latest news while at the same time trying to balance doing a variety of other online tasks. So whenever you hear a strange or shocking “sound bite” try to look for background information. Newsprint is especially good at providing this because it doesn’t have to follow the same limiting structure as news video footage.
Use a variety of online resources to get a well-rounded idea of candidates’ viewpoints, ideologies, activities, and records. Try to read news commentary about a political event such as a debate from one site and get the raw footage of the actual debate from another.
Finally, there are hundreds of thousands of apps for iOS and Android for every imaginable purpose, and politics is no exception. Based on your specific interest, you can find apps to follow your favorite—or least-liked—candidates or poll read numbers political documents, link to news outlets, track international political spheres, and much more. Many apps are free and can add a little bit of fun to what can often be a stressful area.
The abundance of media through which we can interact with the political sphere and remain involved and informed is a two-pronged sword. It’s easy to read small bits and pieces of news or listen to decontextualized sound bites. Instead of letting technology limit what we hear to three minutes or less, we should take full advantage of resources to stay in touch with the bigger picture.
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