There is an epidemic spreading. It’s not the corona-virus, but it is something we see and use everyday. This epidemic affects a person’s ability to control what they post or do on social media platforms. It spread so quickly, it even breached the white house and affected our poor president. Symptoms include: not thinking before you post, lack of knowledge on post, having random context or none at all about post and etc. As CCHS students and internet users, we are all surrounded by social media. Examples of media we are exposed to include: Terrier News, Terrier Times and any social media platform. The usage of this media allows all of us to have a voice, learn about things or share our opinions. As students and active platform users, we all have the ability to influence someone or an idea because of this. Imagine how many people a social media user can influence if it is someone a whole nation watches. What happens if someone who has this much power says the wrong thing? The president of The United States of America who is supposed to represent the citizens of the U.S, has the power to influence people’s political views and stances. Which leads us to the question: Should a president have a social media  platform and how will his power affect the world?

Donald J. Trump’s duty is to represent the U.S. When it comes to communicating with other nations, he must be the people’s unified voice. Trump currently has multiple social media platforms, but the one he is most prominently known for using is Twitter. Twitter is used world wide, so anything he says can be viewed by anyone. With some analytical research into his Twitter account, a lot of his tweets consist of harsh words towards other candidates or his unfiltered opinions on matters. For example, one of his tweets toward presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg stated, “Mini Mike Bloomberg is a LOSER who has money but can’t debate and has zero presence, you will see…”. It seems that our president believes that using middle school terminology to debunk his competition is the way to go. To other nations, this can be viewed as an indecent act and that possible negotiations with this president may lead to conflict because he seems to have a “temper”. Over all, tweets that harass a fellow American citizen and presidential candidate is not a positive look for the U.S citizens he is supposed to represent.

There can be an advantage to having platforms as well. Twitter being a main example, if one has many followers, an interesting idea can be shared. Political stances can be influenced within a platform. Trump had shown his support for Claudia Tenney during her congressional run and advocated for her candidacy by tweeting, “@ClaudiaTenney is a fantastic candidate running in New York, where she was a Great member of Congress…”. Tweets like this can help raise awareness for voting. In this sense, influencing peoples political stance can be beneficial for the party being advocated.

Having the title of a representation for over three hundred million people -to quote Trump himself- is a “huuugge” responsibility. That is the president’s job and everything he says or does is viewed by many. Social media platforms allows quicker access to the public, which at times can be a dangerous thing. When representing a nation, you represent everyone, even if they are not with or for your political party. Roughly 30% of the nation are registered democrats, yet Trump did not take that to consideration. After the State of the Union Address, Trump had tweeted,”A lot of Democrat dropouts tonight, very low political I.Q.”. People could interrupt that in many different ways, but overall its safe to say its definitely not a compliment.

The question of whether a president should or shouldn’t have a social media doesn’t have a solid answer. After viewing what effects a presidential social media would have on peoples views, political stances and the representation of the U.S, the conclusion is that it should be regulated. Before posting anything to the general public, someone who is qualified should review and edit the post to make sure it is appropriate and well written. Presidents use social media as a way to reach out to their supporters and show their relevancy. The idea of completely terminating a presidents social media may not have the best results. It is a way to connect more the U.S citizens. Considering the position a president is in, caution should be taken when tweeting Trumps symptoms only seem to be getting worse.Will our president ever recover from the horrible epidemic that breached the white house? Let’s hope, for his sake and all of our sakes’,that he does.