Gen Y’s Influence on the 2008 Election

The 2008 Presidential election will have a new front-runner this time around, the Internet. The Web will serve as an important tool in Generation Y deciding who they want to be President. According to a new study from online ad network Burst Media as reported by MediaPost, “Voters are relying on the Web more than any medium to research candidates and their positions.”

With the advantages of instant access to every political topic and continually updated information, just to name a few, the Internet has become the premiere source for Generation Y due to their love of technology and their opinionated impatience. The study done by Burst also discovered that “a little over 50% of likely voters would watch a video clip on a candidate’s Web site featuring the candidate discussing his or her positions.” The study also found that it was men over women that are more inclined to look up political inquiries online.

Other related topics that are currently being utilized on the Internet for political purposes and the 2008 election are podcasts from the candidates explaining their positions and platforms. Nothing new here, the MyPod Generation (another Gen Y name because of their affinity for their iPods) was the most likely to download and listen to the podcasts over any other age group. Fundraising will also be fueled by the Web for this election, keep a lookout for which candidate can raise the most.

Generation Y will hopefully be more equipped with the help of the Internet to make their own choice on which candidate to vote for in the upcoming election. All of the information is at their fingertips, it’s up to them to utilize it correctly.

Read the full MediaPost article.