It’s not just boring panels that are losing their charm to attract young audiences, European party leaders have started to take advantage of TikTok to encourage something more. The US is considering banning this app, with its clever marketing and discouraging security issues.
Consider Ireland’s Simon Harris, who as a developing player is actively promoting health awareness and advocating for cancer prevention. Nowadays, the campaign experience is largely driven by the use of new media. He expresses his heartfelt gratitude on becoming the Prime Minister-designate through heartfelt “Thank You” videos on TikTok, where his 95k fans can be found. Harris is not alone. Across the European bloc, politicians are focusing on connecting with the dynamic world of young people, meeting them on their favorite platform – TikTok.
This is a trend that goes against America’s current position when addressing this problem. Chinese spy may have caught US lawmakers red-handed in their actions to publicly access users’ data and pass a bill to ban TikTok. The objective: to force ByteDance (which owns TikTok) to either sell its US assets or shut itself down entirely.
Europe’s outlook is influenced by the next immediate elections. Politicians like French President Macron, with this powerful popularity of just 4 million social media followers, realize well that TikTok is the way they can make their voices heard among young voters.
This number is also increasing in Germany, where the same principle of letting 16-year-olds vote is about to be implemented in the European elections. The novelty of this was that well-known public figures like former Health Minister Carl Lauterbach were the first German ministers to consider it a “revolution” on TikTok. Chancellor Scholz also put the possibility of a government account on TikTok on his table.
Political parties across Europe are grappling with the security issues of the digital world, but the prospect of attracting young voters is an attractive promise. It would be surprising to see whether influencers develop viral videos. Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: it would not be surprising if politics in the future becomes just a competition between dance and songs with hilarious lines.
