The U.S presidential election is important to people around the world due to the country’s influence; the election’s outcome will greatly affect many issues globally, including terrorism, immigration, climate change, human rights, the global economy and more. The media have played an increasingly prominent role in U.S presidential elections, but the kinds of media have changed over time. Today, new forms of media rather than traditional ones—particularly social media—represent a critical factor in future elections, and research on this trend will clarify this critical element. This study may seem to be about politics, but in fact its focus is on how global issues will be affected by this development’s butterfly effect.

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The project was initially intended to study how elections in the U.S are greatly influenced by all forms of media and how the media are manipulated, especially during the 2016 election, but that question was obviously far too broad in scope, and there are already countless similar studies. Furthermore, there are far too many types of media, far too many elections for comparison, and far too many consequences, means of manipulation, and events that are greatly influenced by the media. My research proposal took that form mainly because I was considering a project that allows me to brainstorm all the information, questions, and arguments just to inspireing thinking; I was not necessarily trying to find definitive answers or conclusions. To narrow the project to a more manageable scope that can be completed, my updated research questions will consider the importance of winning the Generation Z (Gen Z voters are usually between age of 18-26) vote in the 2016 presidential election. How have politicians tried to use new forms of media, specifically social media, to do that? What are the concerns in the process? Why have both candidates failed to convince Gen Z to vote? What are the ultimate impacts of the 2016 election?