Hey everyone, ever wonder how politicians try to get your attention and your vote? The “Wonks and War Rooms” podcast, hosted by Dr. Elizabeth Dubois, who knows tons about how we communicate, breaks it all down! In this episode, she chats with Melanie Paradis from Texture Communications, a super smart person who helps politicians get their messages out. Think of it like this: Dr. Dubois explains the secret sauce of how minds work when it comes to politics, and Melanie shows us how it’s actually used in real life.
They dive into something called the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It sounds fancy, but it just means looking at three things: what you personally think about an issue, what your friends and family think (that’s “subjective norms”), and how much control you feel you have over a situation. Melanie gives cool examples, like how “third-party advertising” works in Canadian elections or that “I’m trying something new” ad from the Conservative Party in British Columbia. But here’s the really important part, especially for you on social media: Melanie warns us that social media can be a bit of a trick! She says, “The internet is not real,” and that we’re often stuck in “algorithmic prisons.” This means those personalized algorithms are constantly filtering what you see, creating filter bubbles and echo chambers. You might only see stuff that agrees with what you already believe, which makes it super hard to hear different ideas or even understand why someone else would vote differently. This idea of hyper-nudging and microtargeting means messages are super-tailored just for you, which can make those bubbles even stronger. Melanie says this digital isolation is “pretty dangerous” because it can give us a warped idea of what everyone else thinks about politics. So, next time you’re scrolling, remember to peek outside your bubble!
References:
- “Theory of Planned Behaviour with Melanie Paradis” podcast episode:Â https://www.polcommtech.com/post/theory-of-planned-behaviour-with-melanie-paradis
- Previous podcast episode: “Echo Chambers and Filter Bubbles with Adi Rao”:Â https://www.polcommtech.com/post/echo-chambers-and-filter-bubbles-with-adi-rao
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