On October 7th, Taylor Swift broke her political silence and endorsed two candidates running for the election in Tennessee. In a post on Instagram, Swift shared who she will be voting for and what her “Tennessee values” are. At the end of her Instagram post, Swift also urged all “intelligent, thoughtful, and self-possessed people who have turned 18 in the past two years” to register to vote. According to BuzzFeed News the director of communications at Vote.org, Kamari Guthrie, shared that 65,000 registrations occurred in a single 24-hour period since Taylor Swift’s post.
But not everyone wants to hear the pop stars take on political issues. Some people get frustrated when celebrities share political opinions, stating that they have no political expertise and are running their own agenda. But celebrities should share their political voice.They are just like your average American, but with a bigger social media platform.
Swift has 112 million followers on Instagram, while our President has 10.2 million. If Swift were to post about the Kavanaugh trial, millions of people would be informed, regardless, of her stance on the subject. Due to Swift’s Instagram post, more people were aware of the voter registration date, increasing voter registration immensely.
More people scroll daily through Instagram than a news site. So celebrities have an opportunity to educate the public about political policies because they know people are listening. We should not shame Taylor Swift for her Instagram post. We should welcome it.
Celebrities should use their social platforms to be informative, not necessarily influence the public’s view.
Taylor Swift was able to get people to listen. We live in a society where celebrities have become influences on society as a whole. So, we should embrace celebrity political stances because behind all the glamour and high profile lifestyle, they are real people. They are sons and daughters, employees, taxpayers, and voters, and have the ability to make a difference.