The Effects of Media Rhetoric on the Political Ideologies of College Students
Phillips, Matthew
Phillips, Matthew
Citations
Altmetric:
Soloist
Composer
Publisher
Date
2025-05-19
Additional date(s)
Abstract
This research analyzes media rhetoric during the 2024 presidential election cycle and determines its effect on undergraduate students at Texas Christian University. Young people have historically been disconnected from politics and political rhetoric, and therefore this study was intended to ascertain whether the same was true for college students. An anonymous Google Forms survey was released to TCU students in the Department of English which asked students what media sources they used to learn about four specific events of the election cycle: the Donald Trump assassination attempt, Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race, the second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and the election itself. It also asked what the students' understanding of the event was after having consumed the information. Using these answers, specific examples of content released by several of these cited sources were analyzed in conjunction with student responses to establish their influence on the students' political ideologies. Ultimately, the results demonstrate that the rhetoric had little effect on students because they adhered to the norms of modern young people; they, too, were not interested in politics and even seemed repulsed by the subject. Nonetheless, rhetoric conveyed through video media (i.e. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) appeared to have the greatest influence on students.