When I logged on to Facebook on Saturday, this banner sat at the top of my news feed. I immediately began to feel sorry for Facebook. Does the company really not know that it’s irrational to vote since the probability of a single vote being decisive in such a large country is practically equal to zero?
Well, regardless of whether or not Facebook knows voting is rationally unjustified, the company does realize that social pressures can serve as a powerful incentive to vote. Like Professor Coppock, who votes simply to please his mom (and to avoid her displeasure), Facebook users may choose to vote simply so they can publicize this information to their friends, thereby evading the shame of not voting.
After all, nearly 8 million people around the world have shared on Facebook that they’re registered to vote. What does it say about me as a citizen of this country if I don’t also register to vote?
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