Post-Election Withdrawal?

I had a question from a reporter this morning about post-election withdrawal.  What are all those people who have been “addicted” to websites, TV, and text messaging to follow the election going to do with themselves?

Call me an optimist, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.  First of all “addicted” is a strong word.  Emotions were definitely high.  But the presumption that emotional engagement and passion leads to a sense of withdrawal and letdown is problematic, if not downright pessimistic.

I think it’s pretty clear that the majority of Americans wanted change.  This election is certainly historic for a number of reasons, but it is emblematic to me of what is best of the American culture: the ability to redefine ourselves.

Americans has been living in a climate of fear and anxiety in recent years, particularly since 9/11.  The fear response has led to policy choices that have restricted American’s freedoms and tarnished America’s image overseas.  America is supposed to be strong and beloved, open-minded, hard-working, the land of opportunity, and “give me your tired, your poor.” The cognitive dissonance of domestic distress and negative global perceptions adds to our sense of anxiety: are we not who we think we are?  Or worse, are we not who we want to be?

This election was historic in part because technology allowed more people to participate than ever before.  And I’m not talking just voter turnout, which was close to 80% in some states.  I’m talking about Blogs, Twitter, email, SMS, Facebook, and the list goes on.  People were actively reaching out, connecting, exchanging ideas, and promoting their points of view.

Social media technology allows people to feel that their voice matters.  Technology allows people to reach across boundaries and connect.  So do I think there will be withdrawal?  No.  There will be some McCain supporters feeling a little dejected, of course.  But the connections people made reaching out across all that social media are real.  Facebook friends and Twitter followers do not disappear into thin air because the election is over.

While humans are biologically wired to detect danger, they are fundamentally hopeful. The election provided an outlet for American’s worries and fears, but the sense of participating has replaced worry with hope.

Unlike other emotionally-charged events, this election was a shared experience.   Shared experiences are emotionally powerful and emotions enhance learning.  I think many Americans, who didn’t believe it before, learned that participating matters.

Psychologically speaking, we know that resilience and optimism are reinforced by self-efficacy.   Self-efficacy—feeling like what we do makes a difference—creates a genuine sense of passion and motivation.  I think that people weren’t addicted to the technology they used to follow an election; they were addicted to the passion of participation and connection.