If I can attest to anything about the 2020 election campaign, it is the sentiment that it will be remembered as the texting election. More and more, campaigns are finding social media, and more specifically text messaging an effective way to cut through the clutter and connect with potential voters.
It's noted that 99% of text messages are read, and 90% are being read within the first three minutes. So it's a channel that has unparalleled visibility.[1] But will this method prove effective in driving results?
The results aren't fully known, but from a personal perspective, the process is anything from perfect, as I have been on the receiving end of messaging that is targeted at my 831 California area code. I am either the victim of a Taylor Robinson that has a fake number that matches mine, or she mistyped her own number. Either way, this is wasted effort and only creates annoyance to me, being I'm registered and reside in New York. So regardless of my position on Prop 15 I won't be voting on it.
New research out of the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin paints a much darker and meaningful picture of the trend. The nature of peer-to-peer (P2P) messages make them “poised to bring political messaging to even higher levels of intimacy and efficacy, and, disturbingly, render them factually impossible to audit by outsiders,” [2] Given the nefarious intentions of bad actors, it's easy to see how a campaign of misinformation may be difficult to combat. It raises serious ethical issues about making sure everyone is informed of the truth. As text messaging appears to be the new platform of choice for campaigns the question remains if society will adapt fast enough to sift through the clutter or fall prey to the bad actors.
[1] https://www.npr.org/transcripts/920776670
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