“I don’t think I can be helpful to you. I have no young volunteers.”
This was the response of Barbara Conley, a candidate for a Michigan State Senate seat in 2022, when asked about her experience working with young people during her campaign. Conley is heavily involved in the Rotary Club, an international service group, and her local county Democratic Party. Yet, she has no current knowledge of any young volunteers in either of these organizations in Leelanau, Michigan.
Politics is changing. Direct voter outreach, which used to occur primarily through door-to-door campaigning, is shifting to take the form of digital organizing instead. People are increasingly engaging with politics in a one-sided and inactive way, and evidence of “political hobbyism,” a practice coined by Tufts Professor Eitan Hersh, can be found across countless facets of our social network.
Political Hobbyism on Social Media
Political hobbyism can be compared to sports fanatics supporting their favorite team: they stand on the sidelines, root for their players, and buy merchandise, but they take no further action to help their team win. Young people are posting and consuming political content on Instagram, X, TikTok, and other social media platforms at unprecedented rates, driven by the convenience and instant gratification that posting provides. Although this allows them to feel connected to political movements, it removes them from the on-the-ground work and sacrifice necessary to enact political change.
Amanda Litman is the co-founder and co-executive of Run for Something, an organization that supports young progressives on the ballot. In an interview with the HPR, Litman explained, “Posting on social media or having a conversation in the “public square” is a part of participating in politics. It is not enough, but it is something. Not all political hobbyism is necessarily bad. It’s just not the same as taking action. Reading the news is good. Reading the news is also not enough to actually affect the news.”
Not only is it not enough, but posting can actually be harmful. In-person conversations with family and friends about political issues have been found to dissipate hatred and anger, emotions typically present in social media comments. These comments encourage surface-level engagement on the platform instead of engaging, enriching, and passionate in-person conversations.
Unfortunately, among young people, observing peers engaging in online political conversations compels them to contribute, enabling misinformation to spread rapidly. This increase in mainstream misinformation exposed 48% of young people to misinformation, contributing to a deterioration in knowledge of political policy and candidates, resulting in misguided voting and a subsequent decline in one of the most essential facets of democracy: truth.
The Evolution of Political Engagement
Young people are engaging with political content on social media. They should, therefore, be willing to put down their phone and help support an issue they care about, right? Seventy-six percent of young people believe in their generation’s power to impact the country’s political landscape. However, the same poll found that a mere 7% of respondents had volunteered for a political campaign. Despite extensive interaction with political content on social media, young people simply refuse to volunteer, at least in a traditional sense.
Litman denies that there has been a decline in the number of volunteers she has seen over her extensive career in public service, including working on two presidential campaigns and a gubernatorial campaign. However, she noted that “the way that people have volunteered has changed.”
Relational organizing, a form of political outreach based on personal relationships to effect change, has become more prevalent. These highly personalized interactions between community members can be impactful during an election. Litman argues that relational organizing is substantially more effective as a form of voter engagement than online outreach.
“It is very easy to yell at someone in the comments or in their DMs. It is very hard to yell at someone when they’re at your door,” Litman explained. “When you are out there knocking on doors or making calls, you are the best possible ambassador to your neighbors, your friends, and your community about the future of the place you live,” she added.
Ethan Lang, Press Secretary for the Michigan College Democrats, told the HPR that although his organization uses social media, they do not rely on these platforms to find volunteers. Instead, most volunteers and chapter members are recruited in person at activity fairs and other on-campus events. This method allows them to connect with hobbyists who claim to be politically engaged and direct them toward more impactful efforts.
Recognizing the limitations of both digital and in-person engagement, many campaigns are adopting a hybrid approach to voter outreach, aiming to generate online interest and garner in-person commitment. Conley, for example, hired a social media consultant in their twenties to raise money for her campaign while paying two college students to knock on doors. Some platforms, like Reach, a grassroots organizing app geared toward younger voters, integrate technology with personalized volunteering, using features like contact importation and household search for local canvassing.
While directly recruiting volunteers on social media may not be the most effective approach, these platforms still serve as valuable tools for connecting politically engaged individuals with causes they care about. Lang noted that some people have reached out on social media asking how they can get more involved in local politics.
Additionally, Michigan College Democrats use social media to collaborate with other politically active organizations. Lang told the HPR, “We love to work with other organizations…We recorded a podcast earlier this year, and we’re glad to collaborate to spread our message and our presence here in Michigan. Because as much as the younger voters in Michigan, and the country as a whole, hate being that deciding vote, we are, and so it is good to have younger people getting more involved. And if we can help be a voice for the youth, then that’s something that we want to do.”
How to Create Action
While social media may fall short in transforming passive political hobbyists into active volunteers, it can still connect users to causes, campaigns, and organizations.
Campaigns and organizations could focus on adopting hybrid approaches that integrate social media accessibility with the personal touch of relational organizing. Platforms like Reach and in-person recruitment at community events can ensure that the initial spark of interest generated online leads to tangible action. Social media campaigns that educate users about how to get involved can meet hobbyists where they are and empower more young people to transition from passive observers to active participants.
Litman encourages young people to take active participation to the extreme and argues the rampant nature of political hobbyism “speaks to the need to run for something, to have a vision, to step up and do more than just vote, more than just volunteer, to actually lead.”
Ultimately, while social media alone may not be sufficient to create an engaged populace, it remains an invaluable tool for connection. By leveraging it thoughtfully, we can work toward a more engaged and active citizenry.
