A Study on How Technological Innovation Affected the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election: Young Voters' Participation and Obama's Victory

摘要

This paper will argue how technological innovation affected the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Sending or receiving text messages by mobile phones and SNS are very popular among young adults 18-24. During the 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign, most of the candidates had own profile pages on Facebook and MySpace. And, CNN teamed with YouTube to hold the Democratic and Republican Presidential Candidates Debates in 2007 for the first time. However, it is said that especially, Barack Obama and his campaign ldquosuccessfullyrdquo used the new technology to mobilize young voters. So, I will discuss if their targeted young voters did help Obamapsilas victory. In conclusion, I would like to underscore relevance of technological innovation to the 2008 U.S. presidential election.