Athenian warriors had their poet chroniclers, while renaissance dukes had court painters. In 2022, those with designs on power are masters of their own digital portraits.
While most MPs have a social media presence, only the youngest have ventured into TikTok. TikTok, theapp owned by Chinese corporation ByteDance Ltd., where videos of up to three minutes can be posted epitomises the modern collapse in attention span, with 16 second videos proving the most popular by an overwhelming margin. Whatever one’s reservations about the app’s usefulness, why wouldn’t young politicians seek to hop on the bandwagon?
Two 2019 intake MPs did exactly that, with different results. Both Labour MPs Zarah Sultana and ‘Red Wall’ Conservative Dehenna Davison have taken to the app to share a mixture of personal & political posts. Sultana’s videos include clips of her question in Commons to a tutorial on sushi-rolling. This clearly makes Sultana the more successful of both the pair. boasting over20,000 followers and 3.5M liked.
Davison, recent Times Her profile is misleadingly called “Profile”. The ‘TikTok’ MP, has garnered just 1850 followers and less than 3000 likes. This raises the question of whether such MPs’ grip on the digital universe is being overegged? Or, is it that Davison and other Conservative MPs are less successful on platforms like TikTok for younger voters?
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This is a clear sign of a long-term trend towards more public figures using social media, including politicians. We should not forget the often hilarious and chaotic ramblings of Donald Trump, former US president. It will always depend on the politician who is concerned about the style and frequency they post. There is a greater chance that the younger, more tech-savvy, more intelligent ones will dominate.
The move toward TikTok and Twitter, also follows a long-trend of politicians attempting to capitalise on pop culture to soften their reception by the public. From Harold Wilson’s photo-op with the Beatles, to Blair’s Brit-Poppers all the way to Corbyn’s Glastonbury speech. But now camera phones and editing have become straightforward for amateurs, politicians seeking to capitalise on the latest trend no longer have to achieve proximity to real-life celebrities, but can attempt to become one themselves.
One problem that MPs may face in the short term is the risk of appearing silly if they reveal more intimate moments or remarks, possibly without another person reviewing them. While humour seems to play into the appeal of some politicians- see: the redemption arc of Theresa May via ‘TheresaTok’- for others it leaves them open to ridicule. But that is not the point. last MarchLabour ordered all its MPs to sign up for TikTok in order to prevent imitation by online pranksters. This suggests that not all MPs are happy with the impact of grassroots satire upon their brand.
While for some MPs, having more off-cue social networking interactions can put a face to a person and make it easier for voters to connect with them, it can also lead to embarrassing gaffes for others. The usual moral panic about the ‘dumbing down’ and loss of decorum in public life also abounds the proliferation of MPs on social media. Imagine Ted Heath dancing to a rap song. An injection of humour can work in some politicians favour- see: our current prime minister- however there is a risk of people focusing on tittle tattle rather than serious issues.
Is this really any different from the proliferation of tabloid news, the late nineteenth century explosion of ‘yellow journalism’ though? Both consumers and voters cannot expect every encounter to be true and accurate. However, MPs who are more active online will be held accountable by other users and voters at the poll box.
It is also noteworthy that younger MPs tend to be more inclined towards digital activism. This is natural but it could cause older people to feel less represented in certain online spheres. This is a typical trend for many new platforms that start with young creativity and then filter down to older generations. Can younger people be blamed for amplifying themselves?
Britain’s decision-making process is still dominated by older MPs and voter base. The majority of welfare spending is directed to pensions. April’s national insurance hike has been pushed for the purpose of adult social care and will not be deducted from pensioners’ incomes. It is also the case that, while social media already partly defines many people’s engagement with news and politics, most older people will vote Conservative and most young people will vote Labour regardless of which MPs post make-up tutorials to TikTok and which do not.
If we continue to brand political figures, and by extension their campaigns, through these channels, we will surrender to the power of the algorithms and social media corporations over political discourse. Why can’t Trump be banned from Twitter?
There have also been some warnings that the use of apps such as TikTok are a genuine risk to national security not just for politicians, but for everyday citizens. Because of its extensive data mining, staffers at the US Capitol were forced to remove it from their devices in 2019. However experts suggest that, while evidence of the app’s data mining is concrete it is no more likely to risk one’s privacy then Facebook, Twitter or Gmail. Social media has long since replaced public squares, so it’s not worth trying to backpedal.
Zarah Sultana was last May mocked for expensing an ‘influencer toolkit’ whether we like it or not the power of social media has become a part and parcel of political campaigning.
However, MPs who want to delve into the intimates of social media stardom should exercise caution. They should also remember that likes by TikTok teenagers do not equal votes in a general electoral election.
