You’ve heard of foreign invasions. Alien invasions. Even invasive plant species. But there’s one invasion we’ve all seen, all experienced and have done nothing about.
Yes, I’m talking about the invasion of political advertising.
You don’t have to go far to run into some Canva-designed yard sign or banner with a politician’s last name plastered across the front. Those who prefer to stay indoors aren’t safe, either. One can easily find campaign advertising before any YouTube video or television show.
If you live in College Station, chances are that you understand what I mean. James Talerico and Ken Paxton have been running their video ads slandering each other for over a month. Even The Battalion website is overflowing with political advertisements. All you have to do is go to the main page to see “Money in your pocket! End data center madness! Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor!” posted across the top, middle and sides.
It’s exhausting. It’s annoying. And it’s useless.
The numbers might surprise you. Studies show that campaign advertising methods like roadside signs and YouTube ads influence about 1.7 % of American voters. As a country, we love conforming to the rest of the population. Think about seasons. During the summer, we all want to have the same water bottle. During the fall, everybody is flooding Starbucks for their daily PSL. And election season is no different. The familiarity that comes with seeing the same candidate’s name or election package multiple times across town is enough to sway some Americans’ choice in the election booth.
I’ll put it like this: If I stuck a sign on the side of the road with my last name printed across it in bold letters, I would probably get some votes. No policies or morals required.
But is that how we want our voters to be informed?
I would hope the answer is a resounding no.
Beyond the issue of accurate information, roadside signs bring their own environmental issues. Between 1 and 5 million of these unrecyclable signs — made of metal stakes and plastic boards — are planted in the dirt across America each year. Then, despite laws requiring them to be removed after election season, they remain for months, blocking the sightline on streets and marring any remotely pretty landscaping in cities.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we found political signs in national parks within the next 10 years. After all, that 1.7 % of voters matters.
All of this refers to actual, tangible real estate. We’re talking about physical signs with corrugated metal and stakes next to your local gas station or grocery store. But there’s yet another issue — especially with video ads on platforms like YouTube — regarding our mental real estate.
With political campaigning preluding every television show you watch, pinging your phone every day and lining every street you drive, our minds are becoming inundated with the often volatile and corrosive political sphere. It is no longer restrained to the news or our research on who we should vote for. Polls show that over 60% of Americans feel as if politics is negatively taking over their daily lives.
It makes sense that this invasion is exhausting. Think about it. You wake up on a Monday. On your way to work, you see hundreds of signs with the word “ORANGE” on them. Once you reach the office, there are plenty of wallpapered posters declaring that oranges are the best. You get a few emails and texts saying the same thing. That night? Of course your favorite show has a few ads first, urging you to eat an orange.
You might be influenced to go buy an orange, true. Or, more likely, your mind is sick of hearing that messaging shoved into it. Instead of being informed, you just feel … tired.
It’s time to do something about this invasion. And while I don’t think that sending Sigourney Weaver up to the White House is that solution, there are bills that can be passed that are. Let’s get this campaigning out of our personal lives and back into an informed space where it belongs.
Marie Kneeland is an English honors sophomore and an opinion writer for The Battalion.
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