AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Rather than putting the typical 'Vote For ...' sign in their front yards, the younger generation has converted to the 'Like' button on Facebook to show political support.
A Pew Research Center study shows ten percent of users ages 18 and up have used social networking to get politically engaged, and that jumps to 37 percent among voters ages 18 to 29.
"Facebook gives you more information and guys like myself don't have a lot of time to watch the news and gather information from the news," 26-Year-Old Neil Bates said. "So, I get on Facebook and I look at the person's bio and watch all of his campaign commercials."
So, why support on the Internet as opposed to putting a sign outside your house or a bumper sticker on your car?
"It's a lot easier to get on Facebook and conversate with people about the election and about who's running in the election rather than going across the street and knocking on the door because they have a sign in their yard and conversating with them," Bates added.
On the other hand, some people prefer the old-fashioned way. And they say placing signs and banners in the public eye can still be effective, just as it was in the good ol' days.
"It proved to be pretty effective- those that did advertise, they normally were the ones that were elected," Texas Republican County Chairmen's Association Member John Tyson said. "So, it has been proven to be very effective. And I think today it probably still is, maybe not to the extent it would be without the Internet."
Which method is more effective in showing political support? Vote in our web poll.
