My Facebook news feed is completely full of "blah blah is voting in the general election." Literally, it's 80% of all my friends and I find it a little unsettling. This new social media lifestyle we've all grown accustomed to is changing rapidly, people can inform you that they're voting at the touch of a button but personally, I don't like it.
Yes you voted, that's great. It really is inspiring to see younger people having a say in who runs our country, but why do you feel the need to tell everyone who you've voted for? It's personal to you.
I voted today but not once did I check in at the ballot box or write something along the lines of, "if you vote for anything other than ....... you're an idiot". My brother is gay and fearful of a UKIP leadership, I find myself paying £9,000 a year in university fees while my mother, who's a year ahead of me, only had to pay the £3,000. That is why I will never vote conservative. But I don't have to justify myself to anyone. I have a number of conservative friends on Facebook and it is not my desire to denounce someone else's voting choice because like I said, it's their decision.
Discussions of politics on social media can be incredibly beneficial, making the election more widespread encourages more people to get involved and have their say, we live in a democracy and it's important that everyone has the opportunity to have their beliefs heard.
I'm just uncomfortable with the fact that people aren't voting for the right reasons, whether they have all the information they need before registering their vote. I have seen a number of my Facebook friends informing me that they're voting, friends who have previously never before mentioned politics, which makes me wonder whether they're voting just because it's popular?
10PM tonight will see the election results and it should not be an opportunity to belittle anyone. It's not the X Factor final- it's something that will affect every single one of us for the next four years. Remember, we're all in this together.
