Watching from Abroad: A Student’s Perspective on the U.S. election

You’re in the waiting room pacing. The doctor walks in, and you can’t yet tell if they have happy or sad news. 

Thankfully, this isn’t that moment. Unfortunately, it feels like that moment. 

As a student studying abroad during one of the most crucial elections of my voting life, I might as well be pacing in the waiting room. The fate of the country is in the doctor’s hands, but I’m so far from the operating table it’s hard to tell which way this might go. 

I might be five hours ahead, but I feel weeks behind when staying up to date on election information. When all of the information I receive is from  my carefully curated for you page or newspaper subscriptions it’s hard to witness or understand the realities of this election. 

Thanks to Hercampus’ election updates I was able to stay apprised of this election’s incredibly tight race, while miles and timezones away. 

When election day came, I felt subject to the whims of my social media. Flooded by nostalgic tiktoks and instagrams of the last presidential election and  hopeful slogans about the future of democracy, I anxiously expected a win for the Democratic party. This was quickly undermined as Trump continued to win the pivotal swing states. 

How was I surprised by the outcome? What didn’t I see? Did my social media filter my perspective of the reality of the US so much so that I didn’t recognize how at risk our democracy was? 

A jarring reality of being so far from the debates happening in the U.S. is being almost completely reliant on secondary sources to give you information. My friends, family, and social media all cater to my viewpoints as we endorse each other’s opinions, decreeing that things must be true, or Kamala will surely win. I felt out of touch. 

In the wake of this presidential election I’ve read article after article about the reasons for its outcome, the future we’re headed towards, and what this means. Citing corollary trends between party voting and education levels, lack of clear messages in Kamala’s campaign and her unpopular past-boss (Biden), and ultimately the complacency of most Americans towards Mr. Trump’s character as reasons and explanations of this election result. 

I fear that understanding the results of this election could take years and history textbooks to decipher, while social media’s onslaught of aura readings gauging voters’ emotions, among other theories and perspectives, attempt to explain it.

Feeling out of touch wasn’t a ramification of my geographic position, but an online one. In a sea of misinformation and opinions, like this article, reality faded out from under my screen. The sentiment of most Americans was not one that my social media or news outlets informed me of. The opacity of American politics now pervades even social media as one-sided narratives propelled my beliefs as much as they propelled the opposite’s.  

The outcome of this election, alothugh dismaying, can inspire all of us to vet our news and media outlets. The search for information that illuminates the truth is a heavy burden to bear, but its one our democracy is dependent on.

Distance does in fact not make the heart grow fonder. Learning to be more wary when consuming subjective pieces and informing myself not only of objective policy when voting, but also other voters have defined my experience of an election through a screen, across an ocean.

• abroad
• election
• politics