Election Anxiety Got You Down? Write More, Post Less
Keywords
politics, election, writing
Abstract
In the fall of 2016, as the insanity of the presidential election approached its fever pitch, I found myself, like many of you, embroiled in what felt like an endless maelstrom of social media debate. Encouraged by the steady accumulation of “likes” from like-minded followers, I peppered my Facebook thread with pathos-rich political ads, Anti-Trump opinion pieces, and lengthy articles by overworked fact checkers, and then I planted my flag in the comment section of every pro-Trump post that showed up in my feed. It felt like rhetorical calisthenics—my daily denunciation of hypocrisy, logical fallacy, and fake news—but in the end, what good came from arguing online with neighbors, high school friends, and that old lady from my childhood congregation? If the goal was to change hearts and minds, then not much. In all my 2016 social media activism (such an oxymoronic phrase—like “healthy tan” or “bacon cleanse”) I didn’t win a single convert.
Original Publication Citation
“Election Anxiety Got You Down? Write More, Post Less.” Brevity Blog October 30, 2020. http://brevity.wordpress.com 3 ms. pages.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Franklin, Joey, "Election Anxiety Got You Down? Write More, Post Less" (2020). Faculty Publications. 6728.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/6728
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2020
Publisher
Brevity
Language
English
College
Humanities
Department
English
Copyright Use Information
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