While social media has been an important resource for previous presidential campaigns, 2016 will wind up being a watershed for Twitter and the two candidates. No need to issue a press release or call a press conference when you can simply tap out a line or two and reach millions across the country. This is clearly the present–and the future–of 21st century campaigns, and it becomes more important with each passing year.
So the data miners at the Huffington Post decided to take a deep dive into the differences between those who follow both candidates on Twitter. And what they found is indicative of a larger divide within the United States.
For example, here’s a look at how Trump’s followers on Twitter use terms related to religion and guns:
Trump followers are more likely to use the term…
God
Christian
Christ
Psalm
NRA
#2A (for Second Amendment)
Now let’s take a look at how Clinton and Trump followers refer to universities. Starting with Clinton:
Clinton followers are more likely to use the term…
Columbia
Harvard
Georgetown
American University
Northwestern
But those who follow Trump on Twitter are much more apt to use these terms, which are clearly associated with sports teams:
Roll Tide
Penn State
LSU
FSU
There’s also a clear distinction between some of the terms used by those who follow the two candidates as it applies to professions or general interests. Clinton followers use these words significantly more often:
Writer
book
Professor
Librarian
Bibliophile
Now contrast that with the terms most likely to be used by those who are following Trump:
Football
Baseball
Soccer
Basketball
wrestling
What are we to make of all this? As the HuffPost writers note, there is some linguistic basis for how we can best understand the differences:
“In the 1990s, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley named George Lakoff wanted to know why certain beliefs are often grouped together. For example, what does being a pro-life Christian have to do with owning guns? Or patriotism and nationalism? Or small government?
“Here’s what Lakoff came up with: people’s politics line up with how they view family. Whereas progressives believe in what Lakoff calls the “nurturant parent” family, conservatives believe in the ‘strict father.’
“‘Father knows best,’ Lakoff wrote in a blog for The Huffington Post in July, explaining the ‘strict father’ model. ‘He knows right from wrong and has the ultimate authority to make sure his children and his spouse do what he says, which is taken to be what is right.’
“And in the ‘strict father’ worldview, there’s a deep respect for social hierarchies in which ‘those who have traditionally dominated should dominate,’ Lakoff wrote. God is above man. Man above nature. Rich above the poor. Western culture above other cultures. Christians above non-Christians. And America above other countries.”
If you want to really geek out, be sure and check out the article on HuffPost, complete with awesome graphs and lots more on how you can indeed make some verifiable statements about those who follow the two candidates. We are clearly a divided country, but there’s no reason we have to remain that way. Perhaps we all need to take a close look at this data and try to reach across the aisle to those on the other side.
Featured Image Via PBS Screengrab
