TikTok's Recent Trend of Canceling Out Loved One's Votes
As we move closer and closer to election day on November 5th, political news content has become increasingly more difficult to escape. Many young Gen Z voters have taken it upon themselves to create and share their political insights and endorsements by participating in popular social media trends. Many Gen Zers have promoted their favorite candidates by making fan edits closely resembling those of more mainstream artists or have gone to create more informational commentary content about those candidates' history and policies in a more approachable and comfortable setting than that of traditional news media. The most recent political social media trend from the 2024 election follows the format of a user stating how they will cancel out someone's vote, usually a parent, partner, or other family member. These videos are typically shared under Billy Joel's Piano Man, with pictures of the original posters and then a picture of the person they will vote the opposite of and the reasoning behind their vote.
The trend can illustrate Gen Z's growing division from the politics of past generations by highlighting their frustrations with their loved one's political stances. However, the trend has evolved to primarily highlight people, mostly parents, whose votes they will not 'cancel out,' but instead support. The video jumps from them to a picture of the poster to their loved one and why they believe they are right. Hope Walz, Tim Walz's daughter, even hopped on the trend, celebrating her dad and showing her endorsement of her dad. The trend has become one of Gen Z's many vehicles for promoting political discussions in a more engaging and casual manner. While the creation of fan edits of politicians allows them to appear likable and relatable to audiences, trends like these help humanize supporters of certain candidates, showing they are more than caricatures of their political parties.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/generation-z-voting-trump-harris-election-b2639932.html
https://www.vogue.com/article/tiktok-canceling-out-someone-elses-vote
Hi Jacqueline! This is a great post and a recent trend that should be talked about. I have also seen this on my feed on TikTok and it has been truly disheartening to watch. It is sad that even now, families are not united under beliefs and that Gen Z feels the need to make posts like these. On the other hand, I think it is our important democratic duty to vote for who we believe should be the next president. I think for me, it is sad to see the division in this light. Posts like these show how bad the division has gotten and it may even lead people to then treat their parents or siblings a specific way. It is easy to grow a hatred or dislike for family members when it is more 'in your face' about how someone votes as being classified as your version of 'wrong'. However, I do think positive TikTok's such as the one Tim Walz's daughter made, is a great use of social media. I think there many pros to how apps such as TikTok are utilized, but there are obviously many cons such as the 'canceling out my moms vote' trend.
ReplyDeleteGreat post as usual, Jacqueline! I always love reading your posts, your commentary is so insightful and refreshing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kinslee in that I've seen this trend all across my For You Page and although it's funny, it's really sad to think about. I know my friends and I incorporated the phrase into our vocabulary very quickly, saying how we cancelled out the votes of our parents, siblings, or other relatives. It's definitely an example of using humor as a coping mechanism, because it's really disappointing to face the reality that people you love voted against your own rights and don't see why you would be upset.
My personal favorite videos in this trend are ones that flip the format, such as Hope Walz's video endorsing her father. They add a positive spin on the trend and always give me some hope.
Again, great post this week!
This was a joy to read. I do believe that this is very disheartening to see that families are being torn by their political stances and "canceling" out their others votes. This trend has grown tremendously as the elections were right around the corner. I made a connection to algorithms from social media platforms and this makes me wonder how much of this negative content was forced through an algorithm and led to it increasing? I have more questions than answers but regardless this was a very insightful post and helped me to further understand a popular dynamic in today's society.
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