Many significant paradigm shifts happen over long periods of time, making it difficult for us as eighteen-year-olds to identify them. However, celebrities' use of acquiring political power to gain publicity is a paradigm shift that is highlighted today. With advances in technology and social media, it appears more and more seems within our grasp. For some, that can even mean the presidency. Laying on the foundation of actors like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, more and more big names are willing to get involved politically. Think back to my civic artifact presentation and you will see Chuck Norris advocating registering to vote. He has donated tens of thousands of dollars to republican candidates and serves as the honorary chairman of "Trigger the Vote". Moreover, rapper Waka Flocka Flame announced that he would be running for president in 2016. This announcement in 2013 surely caused substantial ruckus on the Internet, but many overlooked the fact that Waka Flocka is under the age of 35—he cannot run for president until the year 2024. I cannot go without mentioning Donald Trump who is still in the running for the Republican presidential nominee.
The way we get and absorb news has also experienced significant shift. Back in the day of the paperboy, news was primarily relayed by newspaper or radio, and television to an extent. Other than NPR, radio as a news outlet has generally lost its viability. Similarly, newspapers are not as prominent as they used to be. Television news stations and social media now dominate the sphere of news influence. The use of media players in homes and cars lead to news radio's demise, while electronic publications contributed to the downfall of myriad newspapers.
Social media and technology's influence spreads throughout politics and news, contouring the path of the future and ultimately results in multiple paradigm shifts.
I think that the shift in the type of people running for president is highly interesting. This is connected to the perception and overall public opinion regarding the executive office. I think this would be an excellent topic to focus on, especially with its' current relevance.
ReplyDeleteI think how we get news is a very interesting topic. Now, a ton of people get their news from Facebook or Twitter, which means that they often get a very biased perspective based on what they have already liked. This leads to increased polarization in our society because people are only reading news they agree with. If you do this topic, though, you definitely need to focus on a specific time period. You could do from when our parents were growing up-now. I think that would give you a lot to talk about.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of talking about popularity for presidency. Every kid once dreamed to be a president before due to all of the power WE THINK they have. We thought they were the rulers of the country until we got older and realized that congress actually have the most power(in my opinion). Because of this, I agree with you a 100%. Other countries will take the United States as a joke if we have a person with little experience but huge amount of popularity when presidency. I do not think these candidates actually know the responsibilities that they must address as president. But, great paradigm Tim! distinguishing how the past presidency was viewed compared to now.
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