Everyday millions of people use social media to stay connected with their friends and family, share funny videos and pictures, and stay up to date on all the current news and gossip. With photos of Donald Trump’s hair blowing in the wind, and memes  comparing Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and their fabricated opinions, the upcoming presidential election is a hot news topic over social media. When posting about the candidates over social media, a lot of people fail to recognize how what they post relates directly to how that figure is respected. Social media is negatively impacting the election by disrespecting a figure that could be leading our country in just a few short months.

Since the last time America voted on its next president, social media has really taken off. This has led to people being more informed on topics, but it has also created a place where rumors can fly. In just minutes a hashtag featuring false information can be trending all over social media. If one of the presidential candidates is the subject of these rumors, they can reply quickly and get their side of the story out in the open. However, these rumors still exist somewhere on the internet and they will always be there as blackmail that tarnishes the candidate’s reputation.

Not only can information be incorrect, but it is often completely irrelevant. What does  candidate’s hair or outfit have to do with their ability to lead a country? People look to these trivial issues to for aid their opinion on candidates, sometimes without being knowledgeable on what the candidates stands for in his or her policies. If people only listen to what people say about a candidate on social media without digging into actual research on the candidate, it is a guarantee that our next president will not be the most fit for the job.

Every candidate has their own personal accounts on social media. Many may think that the candidates pay no attention to what people are saying about them over the internet, but it is evident that they are based on the way they act towards each other. They see the catty way people treat them on social media and fire back with comments about each other’s wives, manliness, and appearances, all completely irrelevant topics.

In order to lead a country successfully, a leader needs respect from his or her citizens. How are we to respect our future leader when we have a readily available platform that can be used to spout off petty opinions that hold little truth? Many are worried about what the outcome of the election in November will bring. If people look to the research and attention that they’ve paid to the election, I don’t think there is anything to worry about. But if people are only looking to outlets like twitter or instagram or facebook to form their opinions, I do think we have something to fear.