“In a high choice environment, lack of motivation, not lack of skills or resources, poses the main obstacle to a widely informed electorate [eligible voters].”
Although I agree with this statement, I believe lack of motivation is not the only obstacle to a widely informed electorate. Another obstacle is media entertainment. Politics are constantly competing with entertainment and a lot of people would rather be entertained than informed. Channels like the news channel narrow the knowledge gap, but more channels related to entertainment widen that gap. Do you agree with me? Do you think there is any other obstacles?
I don't fully agree with the statement and agree more along the lines with what Morgan said. This lack of motivation and laziness of our generation is an obstacle of the informed electorate, but not the main reason. Besides media entertainment and laziness, I would say that one of the main reasons is the biased news. People are getting the incorrect news and for their opinions on in. You may hear people say "the system is rigged", "my vote doesn't count", or "the government doesn't care about me". The opinions are formed based on the news given to us by the news stations. This then lowers political efficacy and causes the laziness of our generation.
I agree with both Morgan and Kailyn. The statement is true where the lack of motivation plays a big role in an obstacle to an informed electorate, however I believe media distractions and entertainment are a big part as well. When I say media distractions I mean all the different choices and options a person has when they open their phone or go to watch tv. They may have the intention to go watch the news and then get side tracked because a "funny" show is on. Also I agree with Morgan on the entertainment part because only the people that rare motivated are going to watch the news whiles the other people will want to be entertained. I also agree with Kailyn on how the news is biased where some stations may have a more one sided opinion. I believe this comes from the competition Morgan was talking about where the news are trying to get people's attention by forming an opinion similar to the audience. Also the issues that news channels choose to broadcast I feel play a big role in the competition with entertainment.
This statement is also true. We are in a time period where accessing resources is not a problem. Knowing this, people still don’t have the energy to educate themselves towards politics, but they would rather watch the latest entertainment news instead. People like this may have a low political efficacy, especially when they are not confident on certain political issues. However we should consider that we have a selectably large choice of options to get information. Therefore, the likelihood of finding accurate info decreases for people. It is agreeable that the lack of motivation to find information is an important factor of not getting information. Yet at the same time it tends to be difficult to find information when we have such a huge (not-so accurate) database to browse. It is debatable to say if the lack of motivation is the only factor that weakens the information of voters.
This statement is true. The younger generations are one of the biggest causes of low political efficacy. They have no drive to learn about politics, they just would rather watch TV programs, than learn about todays society. As this continues people will be less likely to go and vote, because they have no passion for politics, or their government.
I also agree with this statement. Minimal millennials have the drive to go out of their way to learn about politics or vote on important issues. Information on these topics will not decrease but citizens will hardly vote. As years go on, less and less of American citizens will make an effort to involve themselves in politics which will decrease political efficacy in society.
Prior's words ring true once again in this quote. As mentioned before, new media has opened a door in the range, amount, and accessibility of information and learning about politics and other people. The tools are readily available at our fingertips to access a database of practically endless information. However, as stated in this quote, the main issue lies in the lack of interest and motivation to utilize the tools at our disposal. Those with said motivation, as aforementioned when discussing people with high political interest, reach out to these new resources to grow their existing knowledge. By choice, though, others tend to resort to entertainment or avoidance of the news or politics, and while their political knowledge remains stagnant, that of the motivated increases, and thus the "knowledge gap" continues to widen. A teacher in my past years once was wary of adding bonus questions to quizzes and tests, and once told the class that this was because it would only make the rich, richer. The students who had already mastered the material would increase their already good grade even more, while those with a loose grasp would not be capable of solving them. In this way, his words completely resonate in Prior's, despite the obvious correlation to skills. Yes, the "rich" students obviously had more skills, but this was most likely as a result of motivation, studying hard or paying attention in class. In the same way, new media is the bonus to the "rich", enhancing the knowledge of the politically educated, while the struggling students, the politically uninterested, fail to use their resources such as the teacher (new media) to further their own knowledge in politics.
Another sentiment that most people would agree with. The main reason is due in large part, to the fact that; it’s your own decision to expand your political knowledge or not. This is often debated, since not all people have time to invest in politics.
I agree with this statement completely. In a high choice environment, one has the opportunity to view all types of media at any time and educate themselves on any topic they choose. Therefore, if one decides not to be informed about politics, he is responsible for his own ignorance. I agree with Stephen that it is one’s decision to inform himself about politics or not, especially when he has a plethora of resources to aid in his learning.
Prior’s study shows that the people have to decide if they want to be politically informed. The goal of a widely informed electorate can only be reached if the people choose to switch from watching the Kardashians to watching CNN, or other news outlets. These news stations are widely available to voters and can greatly increase political efficacy if the electorate were to tune in. Campaigns even run ads between entertainment shows to try and spark interest of the electorate to become politically involved. When there were not as many options during the broadcast era, voters would leave the TV on during the news segments as merely background noise between the programs they truly wanted to watch or during their dinner. This gave them some political exposure even though they were not attentively watching these programs. Nowadays, there are so many entertainment networks that people can avoid the news all day if they opt to view the array of entertainment networks. This quote from the reading is definitely true because although resources are widely available to increase one's political knowledge, it is up to the individual to engage in these resources and contribute to the overall political knowledge of the electorate.
I do agree with this statement. Although I do believe that lack of motivation is not the only obstacle to an electorate, just like Morgan said. There are so many choices of information where the electorate becomes overwhelmed. There are many news sources, newspaper, internet, TV news, etc.
I do agree with this statement. New media has created a large and accessible amount of information to be brought to light about politics. This media and information is very accessible for people in society today with loads of information. However, as seen in the article and quote listed above, society has an issue of the lack of motivation and interest to use what tools are placed right in front of everyone. For those who are politically engaged, will have motivation and will engage in these new resources to only increase their political knowledge. However, since this all has to do with individual decisions, those who are not as politically interested will resort to entertainment media sources, avoiding politics. Politics compete with entertainment constantly because individuals rather be amused rather than informed. This choice has one’s political knowledge to remain the same, which contributes to the “knowledge gap” which is continually widening with the choices and decisions made by the people. The news media enhances the knowledge of those who are politically engaged and want to gain political knowledge while those who don’t care and are not interested fail to use what is at their disposal, the new media resources to increase their knowledge of politics.
I also agree with this statement. There are so many options out there to inform yourself about everything occurring around you in a political sense and there are more than enough resources. I truly believe that in a high choice environment, the lack of motivation is the main obstacle for eligible voters, because they have everything they need to become politically educated.
I agree with this statement. If a person has a lot of information or is in a high choice environment, they can easily become educated and increase their political knowledge. The lack of motivation is the main obstacle for eligible voters because it is a person's choice to get educated, and if they easily can increase their knowledge by being in a high choice environment, if they are not educating themselves, it would be their lack of motivation.
I agree with this statement. If a person has a lot of information or is in a high choice environment, they can easily become educated and increase their political knowledge. The lack of motivation is the main obstacle for eligible voters because it is a person's choice to get educated, and if they easily can increase their knowledge by being in a high choice environment, if they are not educating themselves, it would be their lack of motivation.
I again, agree with this statement. In a high choice environment, many forms of media are widely available at all times. The difference between those who are politically educated and those who are not is effort and motivation. In America today, almost everyone has access to most if not all forms of media, like television, radios, newspapers, etc. Anyone can have the information available to them, but not all are willing to use it to their advantage. Some people prefer not to get involved in politics or vote in elections, while others read several articles and form their opinions on certain events. At the base of a person’s political knowledge, is always their amount of motivation. The high choice environment itself is not the cause of an uninformed electorate, it is the people’s lack of drive to learn and educate themselves on politics that causes it. Lack of motivation is not the only obstacle facing an uneducated electorate, but it is the main one in a high choice society like America.
I agree with this statement and other comments above because it is up to them to make the decision whether or not they want to watch the news. People who want to increase their political knowledge will take the time to watch the news or read on the internet. People who don’t care as much will be a lot less motivated to watch the news over something more entertaining. In the end it all comes down to whether or not you choose to take the time to increase your knowledge to make the right decisions.
Although I do agree that one of the obstacles is lack of motivation, there is also the issue of lack of resources. Despite how far our country has developed, there is still the minority of people who cannot access the media or other sources in order to gain knowledge. Even if there are people in this minority who truly have an interest in what is happening, they are stuck without any political knowledge.
I agree with this statement because although there is a greater choice, we cannot force someone to watch something they dont want to, it is completely voluntary. Why would a person that has no motivation to learn about politics go out of their way to learn about political issues? They would rather watch something more entertaining to them. With such a huge number of choices, they are most likely going to find a choice that they would prefer. Only people with interest and motivation will use these sources to increase their political knowledge.
I also agree with this statement, that people cannot be forced to view something, but must instead take it upon themselves to do so. I agree with Vincent that someone who has no care in learning about politics is more interested in watching something entertaining rather than a political debate. One must be self-motivated. As for the lack of skills or resources, this is an issue for some people, but not nearly as big as being motivated. Even with the information placed right in front of them, society still lacks the ability to use these tools to become more involved in politics and the fundamental basis of our government.
I agree with this statement because people must motivate themselves to educate themselves about political issues. People cannot be made to learn about and actively participate in politics- there must be some level of political interest. Our disproportionate electorate struggles with a knowledge gap due to an imbalance between politically disinterested and interested people.
I completely agree with this statement. Many people choose to not gain political information because they may see it as useless and that their opinion doesn't matter. However people with good motivation will try to find information in any way they can even if it's from a newspaper instead of television or internet access.
I agree with this, because a large number of choices for news sources will allow people without the motivation to become informed about or involved in politics to use whichever news source provides the least amount of political information. This encourages only the most politically motivated to become involved in politics, which, because the most politically motivated tend to be the most ideological, leads to very polarizing opinions becoming the information available. This could lead to a cycle in which increasingly polarizing news makes more and more people disinterested, leaving only the extremely ideological involved in such news.
I agree with this statement everyone has access to the media, the people who have motivation to be involved with politics would use the media to their advantage. The people who lack the motivation do not use the media to their advantage and rather not get involved into the politics. Like Madison said the difference between someone who is politically educated and those who are not are effort and motivation. So by not having the motivation or effort to be politically educated, they would most likely not be involved in politics.
I agree with this statement because as Brooke and Vincent said citizens are more likely to watch something entertaining then the news especially when the news breaks out with bad stories that people don't usually want to hear. The choice to participate in politics is entirely the citizens choice based on our first amendment, although our country has all the resources needed to participate, the bottom line is you can't force people to do something they do not want to do.
I agree with this statement. Many millennials do have the resources to increase their political knowledge on government and politics but don’t spare the time to want to learn about it. It’s not the media that lacks this information but the willingness of individuals interested in the topic.
I also agree with this statement. The person has to be interested and want to be involved. Motivation is the biggest obstacle, it takes the persons will. Sources are provided and easily accessible; people can easily use them. Especially with the younger generation, people would much rather watch a show or program rather than the news. Individuals need to motivate themselves to become politically involved.
I also agree with this statement. There are thousands of sources that have valuable information on politics that are very easily accessible from anywhere in the country. Therefore, the problem of having an electorate that is not as informed on politics does not come from information that isn't readily available, but from people who are to lazy or do not care to find it. Nowadays people would rather watch mindless television programs than inform themselves on the things that are happening in our government.
While I agree that lack of motivation is a main obstacle to a widely informed electorate, lack of resources or time does also play a role. Those who can easily access news sources, whether it be through the TV or the internet, and choose not to are blocking themselves from being knowledgeable about politics (thus lack of motivation). In a high choice environment they can afford to lack political motivation, since they can easily avoid news and politics by choosing entertainment instead. However, there may be some people who are interested in politics, yet they do not have unlimited access to TV and the internet. If they are too busy working or just simply do not have the free time to engage in politics, they may unwillingly lack political knowledge.
I agree that a lack of motivation ultimately causes the electorate to be uneducated about political issues. The average American has at least some access to the internet in their own home and can view at least cable news channels as well as others like CNN and FOX. However, if this person is not interested in politics and feels that their opinion and vote are not relevant to the government, they likely will not take advantage of these resources. The right to vote and participate in government also comes with the right to choose not to vote. So, while citizens are encouraged to be educated about the government and participate in elections, no one can force them to do so. Therefore, the lack of interest or desire to learn leads to an uneducated electorate.
I agree that the lack of motivation is an obstacle to a widely informed electorate. If someone isn’t very interested in politics, then why would they go through all the effort to learn more about it. However, I don’t believe this is the only obstacle. Other obstacles may be that people hold too true to their beliefs and refuse to learn more about them.
I think that motivation is one of the main obstacles to a having many eligible voters. So many people watch the news and could care less about who leads our country, and many people dislike the candidates or what they represent, as well, which somewhat falls into the motivation category. However, there are a lot of people in the country that physically or mentally can not vote because they are working during election day, or they are taking care of their kids when they have nobody else who can help them out. It is strange to me to see someone say motivation is the only main factor in preventing people to vote, because they probably dont know what its like to be in a situation where you cant ask anyone for help, or there is nobody available to help you. So although motivation does play a large role in preventing people to vote, there are many other large roles.
I agree with this statement because motivation is a key part in political knowledge. If someone does not care about politics, then they are not going to want to learn anything about it. But as some have said before me, there are a multitude of other obstacles. The overwhelming amount of information can cause someone to be frustrated with learning about politics. There are a wide range of opinions on every topic and some may refuse to learn about it because all the opinions can confuse them. Another obstacle is someones beliefs. They can also refuse to learn about a topic or even a candidate if their viewpoints are different.
In a high choice environment, skills and resources are are not at a minimum, so motivation is the only influence to political knowledge. I agree with Matt however that there are more than just one obstacle to and informed electorate. Someone may have motivation to increase political knowledge but the way information intertwines may be confusing and difficult to understand for all voters.
I agree with this statement. Due to modern technology with numerous creditable sources, it's impossible not to come across some form of political information. Lack of motivation will keep the person from taking advantage of these sources.
As I said in the previous comment, lack of motivation is a key factor in determining if one person is willing to increase their political knowledge. The information is always at hand with an account by almost any point of view despite the ideology, party, or personal beliefs; if someone is not motivated to discover the full truth, then they will not increase their own political knowledge.
I agree and disagree with this statement. I agree with it because when one has no motivation to do or learn about something, then no matter the amount of resources will help that person to truly want to learn. However I also disagree with it because I would not consider the lack of motivation to be the main obstacle. There are many obstacles as to why one would not want to be informed about politics and want to have political knowledge. For one, they are probably not interested enough to take their time and learn. Another, possibly the main obstacle, is that people choose to do other things such as use recreational forms of media instead of wanting or having motivation to gain more political knowledge.
I agree with this statement as well, but just as Morgan had said, motivation is not the only reason why citizens are not participating. The factors including lack of interest and busy schedules may also be the problem. Also, lack of interest could mean many things including the entertainment level or the ideology of the person who is participating. For example, a conservative voter is unlikely to take part in an electorate promoting liberal views. Going along with the second part of the statement, it is very clear that this issue is most certainly not due to lack of sources.
I agree with this statement as people have more access than ever to news, the fact of the matter is that the amount of misturust people have in political candidates due to the media’s portrayal of them causes people to turn away from politics alroghter as they do not know what sources to trust and don’t care who they vote for.
I strongly disagree with this statement and Brandon’s previous statement. The biggest problem faced with this generation is the lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, this generation is currently clueless. Many don’t look to access information from the media because frankly who can trust the media. Most of the media is biased and works to influence their opinion on their viewers. Many of this generation also have a distrust in the government as well as the media and wished to not be concerned with either believing they are both corrupt. However, some who are knowledgeable do have the obstacle of a lack of motivation, but it would be unfair to make that obstacle a generalized statement towards everyone.
Although I agreed that lack of motivation is a reason why people don’t vote. I also think that the reason why people don’t have the motivation to vote is because they believe they don’t have the resources or skills to put in an educated vote. I strongly think that if a person doesn’t feel prepared and educated about the scenario they will not want to vote. This is because they don’t want to do a uneducated vote based on ill-informed peices of information. And I’m my opinion I feel like the reason people are uneducated is because of bias media making the truth and the lies blurred which confuses citizens on what is actually happening. And the lack of classes and education that really explains how our government and politics are set up in depth.
This statement is true. The state that we are in has no problem accessing resources and information. There is so much more to gain now that the internet and media have grown. Agreeing with Sydney, unfortunatly the younger generations, such as ourselves, are lacking motivation and don't have the energy to even educate themselves towards political knowledge or just politics in general. People are more interested in other things such as watching TV programs or other social media than learn about our society. This then lowers the efficacy and increases low voter turnout. People will soon have no interest to vote and have no passion for their government or politics.
I disagree with this statement because people often choose a random candidate to vote for because they aren’t well aware of the details. It’s hard for some citizens to fully understand and have a good amount of knowledge during an election because of the amount of fake news and manipulating that opposing candidates use. Although there are rules in place for this, candidates are still able to make their opponents falsely look bad on occasion. If there were more bias information available it would be much easier for voters. Also, motivation does play a role because if accurate information is too difficult to get, voters might not necessarily put in the fort to find it.
I agree with this statement because in the society that we live in, it is extremely easy to access information and gain knowledge of our voting system. Many people these days choose not to educate themselves because they believe it will not benefit their current situation, many of these people have no motivation to go out and vote at all. If someone really wanted to get informed about the inner workings of our political system, they could and would have the motivation to do so.
I disagree with the statement because although motivation dose have an effect i would say having too much resources especially with those that inform in half truths is more responsible for overwhelming and confusing potential voters.
I agree with this statement because lack of motivation is a big issue for many things, not just politics. Many people choose to stay home and nap rather than go out, just like many people choose to not educate themselves about politics. Because of this, voters will tend to select random candidates on the ballot due to the fact that they don't know what the candidates are pledging or even what party they're involved in so they choose randomly.
I agree. More and more people have difficulty finding the motivation to get involved in politics nowadays. This may have to do with low efficacy, or sheer laziness. Today's society is used to instant gratification and becoming involved in politics would never give that.
I strongly agree with this statement because in this generation people have the media/internet were they could really get educated or learn how easy is to find helpful details/facts/data and also could get all the things that are needed to know for the voting system.But the problem people do not want to learn because they think it won't really help them, also people are becoming lazy to vote or have a low efficacy from the past elections or not like the candidates run. In another words most people think that voting doesn't count or make any big difference for them. But if people want to get more knowledge about the political system, then if they have some motivation will be able to learn more.
The notion that many people are less motivated still isn't the most reasonable thing to say results in a less informed electorate. Many voters never got the chance to learn about politics, and many even follow it, but don't pay attention to what they are really following. If the choices are broad, then many that aren't informed might just completely ditch voting as a whole, as they are unable to make a choice.
I disagree, lack of motivation can be one reason for someone not to vote but the voters usually aren’t informed at most times on who to vote for and it’s hard for someone to decided because of all the fake news and info that gets spread out everywhere.
Although I agree with this statement, I believe lack of motivation is not the only obstacle to a widely informed electorate. Another obstacle is media entertainment. Politics are constantly competing with entertainment and a lot of people would rather be entertained than informed. Channels like the news channel narrow the knowledge gap, but more channels related to entertainment widen that gap. Do you agree with me? Do you think there is any other obstacles?
ReplyDeleteI don't fully agree with the statement and agree more along the lines with what Morgan said. This lack of motivation and laziness of our generation is an obstacle of the informed electorate, but not the main reason. Besides media entertainment and laziness, I would say that one of the main reasons is the biased news. People are getting the incorrect news and for their opinions on in. You may hear people say "the system is rigged", "my vote doesn't count", or "the government doesn't care about me". The opinions are formed based on the news given to us by the news stations. This then lowers political efficacy and causes the laziness of our generation.
DeleteI agree with both Morgan and Kailyn. The statement is true where the lack of motivation plays a big role in an obstacle to an informed electorate, however I believe media distractions and entertainment are a big part as well. When I say media distractions I mean all the different choices and options a person has when they open their phone or go to watch tv. They may have the intention to go watch the news and then get side tracked because a "funny" show is on. Also I agree with Morgan on the entertainment part because only the people that rare motivated are going to watch the news whiles the other people will want to be entertained. I also agree with Kailyn on how the news is biased where some stations may have a more one sided opinion. I believe this comes from the competition Morgan was talking about where the news are trying to get people's attention by forming an opinion similar to the audience. Also the issues that news channels choose to broadcast I feel play a big role in the competition with entertainment.
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ReplyDeleteThis statement is also true. We are in a time period where accessing resources is not a problem. Knowing this, people still don’t have the energy to educate themselves towards politics, but they would rather watch the latest entertainment news instead. People like this may have a low political efficacy, especially when they are not confident on certain political issues. However we should consider that we have a selectably large choice of options to get information. Therefore, the likelihood of finding accurate info decreases for people. It is agreeable that the lack of motivation to find information is an important factor of not getting information. Yet at the same time it tends to be difficult to find information when we have such a huge (not-so accurate) database to browse. It is debatable to say if the lack of motivation is the only factor that weakens the information of voters.
DeleteThis statement is true. The younger generations are one of the biggest causes of low political efficacy. They have no drive to learn about politics, they just would rather watch TV programs, than learn about todays society. As this continues people will be less likely to go and vote, because they have no passion for politics, or their government.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this statement. Minimal millennials have the drive to go out of their way to learn about politics or vote on important issues. Information on these topics will not decrease but citizens will hardly vote. As years go on, less and less of American citizens will make an effort to involve themselves in politics which will decrease political efficacy in society.
ReplyDeletePrior's words ring true once again in this quote. As mentioned before, new media has opened a door in the range, amount, and accessibility of information and learning about politics and other people. The tools are readily available at our fingertips to access a database of practically endless information. However, as stated in this quote, the main issue lies in the lack of interest and motivation to utilize the tools at our disposal. Those with said motivation, as aforementioned when discussing people with high political interest, reach out to these new resources to grow their existing knowledge. By choice, though, others tend to resort to entertainment or avoidance of the news or politics, and while their political knowledge remains stagnant, that of the motivated increases, and thus the "knowledge gap" continues to widen. A teacher in my past years once was wary of adding bonus questions to quizzes and tests, and once told the class that this was because it would only make the rich, richer. The students who had already mastered the material would increase their already good grade even more, while those with a loose grasp would not be capable of solving them. In this way, his words completely resonate in Prior's, despite the obvious correlation to skills. Yes, the "rich" students obviously had more skills, but this was most likely as a result of motivation, studying hard or paying attention in class. In the same way, new media is the bonus to the "rich", enhancing the knowledge of the politically educated, while the struggling students, the politically uninterested, fail to use their resources such as the teacher (new media) to further their own knowledge in politics.
ReplyDeleteAnother sentiment that most people would agree with. The main reason is due in large part, to the fact that; it’s your own decision to expand your political knowledge or not. This is often debated, since not all people have time to invest in politics.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement completely. In a high choice environment, one has the opportunity to view all types of media at any time and educate themselves on any topic they choose. Therefore, if one decides not to be informed about politics, he is responsible for his own ignorance. I agree with Stephen that it is one’s decision to inform himself about politics or not, especially when he has a plethora of resources to aid in his learning.
ReplyDeletePrior’s study shows that the people have to decide if they want to be politically informed. The goal of a widely informed electorate can only be reached if the people choose to switch from watching the Kardashians to watching CNN, or other news outlets. These news stations are widely available to voters and can greatly increase political efficacy if the electorate were to tune in. Campaigns even run ads between entertainment shows to try and spark interest of the electorate to become politically involved. When there were not as many options during the broadcast era, voters would leave the TV on during the news segments as merely background noise between the programs they truly wanted to watch or during their dinner. This gave them some political exposure even though they were not attentively watching these programs. Nowadays, there are so many entertainment networks that people can avoid the news all day if they opt to view the array of entertainment networks. This quote from the reading is definitely true because although resources are widely available to increase one's political knowledge, it is up to the individual to engage in these resources and contribute to the overall political knowledge of the electorate.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with this statement. Although I do believe that lack of motivation is not the only obstacle to an electorate, just like Morgan said. There are so many choices of information where the electorate becomes overwhelmed. There are many news sources, newspaper, internet, TV news, etc.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with this statement. New media has created a large and accessible amount of information to be brought to light about politics. This media and information is very accessible for people in society today with loads of information. However, as seen in the article and quote listed above, society has an issue of the lack of motivation and interest to use what tools are placed right in front of everyone. For those who are politically engaged, will have motivation and will engage in these new resources to only increase their political knowledge. However, since this all has to do with individual decisions, those who are not as politically interested will resort to entertainment media sources, avoiding politics. Politics compete with entertainment constantly because individuals rather be amused rather than informed. This choice has one’s political knowledge to remain the same, which contributes to the “knowledge gap” which is continually widening with the choices and decisions made by the people. The news media enhances the knowledge of those who are politically engaged and want to gain political knowledge while those who don’t care and are not interested fail to use what is at their disposal, the new media resources to increase their knowledge of politics.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this statement. There are so many options out there to inform yourself about everything occurring around you in a political sense and there are more than enough resources. I truly believe that in a high choice environment, the lack of motivation is the main obstacle for eligible voters, because they have everything they need to become politically educated.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. If a person has a lot of information or is in a high choice environment, they can easily become educated and increase their political knowledge. The lack of motivation is the main obstacle for eligible voters because it is a person's choice to get educated, and if they easily can increase their knowledge by being in a high choice environment, if they are not educating themselves, it would be their lack of motivation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. If a person has a lot of information or is in a high choice environment, they can easily become educated and increase their political knowledge. The lack of motivation is the main obstacle for eligible voters because it is a person's choice to get educated, and if they easily can increase their knowledge by being in a high choice environment, if they are not educating themselves, it would be their lack of motivation.
ReplyDeleteI again, agree with this statement. In a high choice environment, many forms of media are widely available at all times. The difference between those who are politically educated and those who are not is effort and motivation. In America today, almost everyone has access to most if not all forms of media, like television, radios, newspapers, etc. Anyone can have the information available to them, but not all are willing to use it to their advantage. Some people prefer not to get involved in politics or vote in elections, while others read several articles and form their opinions on certain events. At the base of a person’s political knowledge, is always their amount of motivation. The high choice environment itself is not the cause of an uninformed electorate, it is the people’s lack of drive to learn and educate themselves on politics that causes it. Lack of motivation is not the only obstacle facing an uneducated electorate, but it is the main one in a high choice society like America.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement and other comments above because it is up to them to make the decision whether or not they want to watch the news. People who want to increase their political knowledge will take the time to watch the news or read on the internet. People who don’t care as much will be a lot less motivated to watch the news over something more entertaining. In the end it all comes down to whether or not you choose to take the time to increase your knowledge to make the right decisions.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do agree that one of the obstacles is lack of motivation, there is also the issue of lack of resources. Despite how far our country has developed, there is still the minority of people who cannot access the media or other sources in order to gain knowledge. Even if there are people in this minority who truly have an interest in what is happening, they are stuck without any political knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because although there is a greater choice, we cannot force someone to watch something they dont want to, it is completely voluntary. Why would a person that has no motivation to learn about politics go out of their way to learn about political issues? They would rather watch something more entertaining to them. With such a huge number of choices, they are most likely going to find a choice that they would prefer. Only people with interest and motivation will use these sources to increase their political knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this statement, that people cannot be forced to view something, but must instead take it upon themselves to do so. I agree with Vincent that someone who has no care in learning about politics is more interested in watching something entertaining rather than a political debate. One must be self-motivated. As for the lack of skills or resources, this is an issue for some people, but not nearly as big as being motivated. Even with the information placed right in front of them, society still lacks the ability to use these tools to become more involved in politics and the fundamental basis of our government.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because people must motivate themselves to educate themselves about political issues. People cannot be made to learn about and actively participate in politics- there must be some level of political interest. Our disproportionate electorate struggles with a knowledge gap due to an imbalance between politically disinterested and interested people.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this statement. Many people choose to not gain political information because they may see it as useless and that their opinion doesn't matter. However people with good motivation will try to find information in any way they can even if it's from a newspaper instead of television or internet access.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this, because a large number of choices for news sources will allow people without the motivation to become informed about or involved in politics to use whichever news source provides the least amount of political information. This encourages only the most politically motivated to become involved in politics, which, because the most politically motivated tend to be the most ideological, leads to very polarizing opinions becoming the information available. This could lead to a cycle in which increasingly polarizing news makes more and more people disinterested, leaving only the extremely ideological involved in such news.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement everyone has access to the media, the people who have motivation to be involved with politics would use the media to their advantage. The people who lack the motivation do not use the media to their advantage and rather not get involved into the politics. Like Madison said the difference between someone who is politically educated and those who are not are effort and motivation. So by not having the motivation or effort to be politically educated, they would most likely not be involved in politics.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because as Brooke and Vincent said citizens are more likely to watch something entertaining then the news especially when the news breaks out with bad stories that people don't usually want to hear. The choice to participate in politics is entirely the citizens choice based on our first amendment, although our country has all the resources needed to participate, the bottom line is you can't force people to do something they do not want to do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. Many millennials do have the resources to increase their political knowledge on government and politics but don’t spare the time to want to learn about it. It’s not the media that lacks this information but the willingness of individuals interested in the topic.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this statement. The person has to be interested and want to be involved. Motivation is the biggest obstacle, it takes the persons will. Sources are provided and easily accessible; people can easily use them. Especially with the younger generation, people would much rather watch a show or program rather than the news. Individuals need to motivate themselves to become politically involved.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this statement. There are thousands of sources that have valuable information on politics that are very easily accessible from anywhere in the country. Therefore, the problem of having an electorate that is not as informed on politics does not come from information that isn't readily available, but from people who are to lazy or do not care to find it. Nowadays people would rather watch mindless television programs than inform themselves on the things that are happening in our government.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that lack of motivation is a main obstacle to a widely informed electorate, lack of resources or time does also play a role. Those who can easily access news sources, whether it be through the TV or the internet, and choose not to are blocking themselves from being knowledgeable about politics (thus lack of motivation). In a high choice environment they can afford to lack political motivation, since they can easily avoid news and politics by choosing entertainment instead. However, there may be some people who are interested in politics, yet they do not have unlimited access to TV and the internet. If they are too busy working or just simply do not have the free time to engage in politics, they may unwillingly lack political knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a lack of motivation ultimately causes the electorate to be uneducated about political issues. The average American has at least some access to the internet in their own home and can view at least cable news channels as well as others like CNN and FOX. However, if this person is not interested in politics and feels that their opinion and vote are not relevant to the government, they likely will not take advantage of these resources. The right to vote and participate in government also comes with the right to choose not to vote. So, while citizens are encouraged to be educated about the government and participate in elections, no one can force them to do so. Therefore, the lack of interest or desire to learn leads to an uneducated electorate.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the lack of motivation is an obstacle to a widely informed electorate. If someone isn’t very interested in politics, then why would they go through all the effort to learn more about it. However, I don’t believe this is the only obstacle. Other obstacles may be that people hold too true to their beliefs and refuse to learn more about them.
ReplyDeleteI think that motivation is one of the main obstacles to a having many eligible voters. So many people watch the news and could care less about who leads our country, and many people dislike the candidates or what they represent, as well, which somewhat falls into the motivation category. However, there are a lot of people in the country that physically or mentally can not vote because they are working during election day, or they are taking care of their kids when they have nobody else who can help them out. It is strange to me to see someone say motivation is the only main factor in preventing people to vote, because they probably dont know what its like to be in a situation where you cant ask anyone for help, or there is nobody available to help you. So although motivation does play a large role in preventing people to vote, there are many other large roles.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because motivation is a key part in political knowledge. If someone does not care about politics, then they are not going to want to learn anything about it. But as some have said before me, there are a multitude of other obstacles. The overwhelming amount of information can cause someone to be frustrated with learning about politics. There are a wide range of opinions on every topic and some may refuse to learn about it because all the opinions can confuse them. Another obstacle is someones beliefs. They can also refuse to learn about a topic or even a candidate if their viewpoints are different.
ReplyDeleteIn a high choice environment, skills and resources are are not at a minimum, so motivation is the only influence to political knowledge. I agree with Matt however that there are more than just one obstacle to and informed electorate. Someone may have motivation to increase political knowledge but the way information intertwines may be confusing and difficult to understand for all voters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement. Due to modern technology with numerous creditable sources, it's impossible not to come across some form of political information. Lack of motivation will keep the person from taking advantage of these sources.
ReplyDeleteAs I said in the previous comment, lack of motivation is a key factor in determining if one person is willing to increase their political knowledge. The information is always at hand with an account by almost any point of view despite the ideology, party, or personal beliefs; if someone is not motivated to discover the full truth, then they will not increase their own political knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with this statement. I agree with it because when one has no motivation to do or learn about something, then no matter the amount of resources will help that person to truly want to learn. However I also disagree with it because I would not consider the lack of motivation to be the main obstacle. There are many obstacles as to why one would not want to be informed about politics and want to have political knowledge. For one, they are probably not interested enough to take their time and learn. Another, possibly the main obstacle, is that people choose to do other things such as use recreational forms of media instead of wanting or having motivation to gain more political knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement as well, but just as Morgan had said, motivation is not the only reason why citizens are not participating. The factors including lack of interest and busy schedules may also be the problem. Also, lack of interest could mean many things including the entertainment level or the ideology of the person who is participating. For example, a conservative voter is unlikely to take part in an electorate promoting liberal views.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with the second part of the statement, it is very clear that this issue is most certainly not due to lack of sources.
I agree with this statement as people have more access than ever to news, the fact of the matter is that the amount of misturust people have in political candidates due to the media’s portrayal of them causes people to turn away from politics alroghter as they do not know what sources to trust and don’t care who they vote for.
ReplyDeleteI strongly disagree with this statement and Brandon’s previous statement. The biggest problem faced with this generation is the lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, this generation is currently clueless. Many don’t look to access information from the media because frankly who can trust the media. Most of the media is biased and works to influence their opinion on their viewers. Many of this generation also have a distrust in the government as well as the media and wished to not be concerned with either believing they are both corrupt. However, some who are knowledgeable do have the obstacle of a lack of motivation, but it would be unfair to make that obstacle a generalized statement towards everyone.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agreed that lack of motivation is a reason why people don’t vote. I also think that the reason why people don’t have the motivation to vote is because they believe they don’t have the resources or skills to put in an educated vote. I strongly think that if a person doesn’t feel prepared and educated about the scenario they will not want to vote. This is because they don’t want to do a uneducated vote based on ill-informed peices of information. And I’m my opinion I feel like the reason people are uneducated is because of bias media making the truth and the lies blurred which confuses citizens on what is actually happening. And the lack of classes and education that really explains how our government and politics are set up in depth.
ReplyDeleteThis statement is true. The state that we are in has no problem accessing resources and information. There is so much more to gain now that the internet and media have grown. Agreeing with Sydney, unfortunatly the younger generations, such as ourselves, are lacking motivation and don't have the energy to even educate themselves towards political knowledge or just politics in general. People are more interested in other things such as watching TV programs or other social media than learn about our society. This then lowers the efficacy and increases low voter turnout. People will soon have no interest to vote and have no passion for their government or politics.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this statement because people often choose a random candidate to vote for because they aren’t well aware of the details. It’s hard for some citizens to fully understand and have a good amount of knowledge during an election because of the amount of fake news and manipulating that opposing candidates use. Although there are rules in place for this, candidates are still able to make their opponents falsely look bad on occasion. If there were more bias information available it would be much easier for voters. Also, motivation does play a role because if accurate information is too difficult to get, voters might not necessarily put in the fort to find it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because in the society that we live in, it is extremely easy to access information and gain knowledge of our voting system. Many people these days choose not to educate themselves because they believe it will not benefit their current situation, many of these people have no motivation to go out and vote at all. If someone really wanted to get informed about the inner workings of our political system, they could and would have the motivation to do so.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the statement because although motivation dose have an effect i would say having too much resources especially with those that inform in half truths is more responsible for overwhelming and confusing potential voters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because lack of motivation is a big issue for many things, not just politics. Many people choose to stay home and nap rather than go out, just like many people choose to not educate themselves about politics. Because of this, voters will tend to select random candidates on the ballot due to the fact that they don't know what the candidates are pledging or even what party they're involved in so they choose randomly.
ReplyDeleteI agree. More and more people have difficulty finding the motivation to get involved in politics nowadays. This may have to do with low efficacy, or sheer laziness. Today's society is used to instant gratification and becoming involved in politics would never give that.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with this statement because in this generation people have the media/internet were they could really get educated or learn how easy is to find helpful details/facts/data and also could get all the things that are needed to know for the voting system.But the problem people do not want to learn because they think it won't really help them, also people are becoming lazy to vote or have a low efficacy from the past elections or not like the candidates run. In another words most people think that voting doesn't count or make any big difference for them. But if people want to get more knowledge about the political system, then if they have some motivation will be able to learn more.
ReplyDeleteThe notion that many people are less motivated still isn't the most reasonable thing to say results in a less informed electorate. Many voters never got the chance to learn about politics, and many even follow it, but don't pay attention to what they are really following. If the choices are broad, then many that aren't informed might just completely ditch voting as a whole, as they are unable to make a choice.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, lack of motivation can be one reason for someone not to vote but the voters usually aren’t informed at most times on who to vote for and it’s hard for someone to decided because of all the fake news and info that gets spread out everywhere.
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