The opinions expressed in this editorial are the opinions of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of The Bolt or the Out-of-Door Academy.

As a teenager, I spend a large portion of my day, everyday, browsing social media.

In the last few months, the presidential election has completely taken over almost every social media platform that exists.

I would be completely okay with this, because I am a strong believer that it is not productive for teenagers to be ignorant of current events. However, in this case, media is playing a negative role. The news stories that the media releases on a daily basis have little to do with the merits of the candidates, but instead their shock value that reels viewers in.

The media has taken advantage of the fact that this year’s election has two noticeably unconventional candidates in the running. The candidates, Donald Drumpf and Bernie Sanders, have been under the media’s microscope for months, constantly being belittled or criticized for issues that have little to do with their campaign.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not AT ALL saying that some of the candidates aren’t getting what they deserve. However, their true colors have been revealed now for months. I bet that any teenager could quote more about the criticisms of Donald Drumpf’s hair rather than one or two policies he has been campaigning for. The same goes for Bernie. Everyone knows what “Feel the Bern” is all about, but besides his highly popular promises of free college, what else could you remember he is advocating?

I see countless stories of Bernie Sanders supporters bashing Drumpf and his supporters, yet I see minimal coverage of the actual reasons why people support Bernie Sanders, which I think is such an issue.

When it comes down to it, this presidential race has turned into a sad display of mudslinging from the candidates, which the press just eats up. In a digital age, so much of what happens on a daily basis is already put on the internet for the world to see, so it is unfortunate that the race for the leader of our country has stooped to that level.

Perhaps the reason that certain candidates are taking surprising leads in the polls is because of all the media coverage. The media loves to scrutinize the beliefs of candidates and publicly shame them, however, they haven’t figured out that every time a story is released, that candidate receives tremendous amounts of publicity. It really is true that all publicity is good publicity, therefore the candidates benefit from any news coverage on them.

The reality is that any informed or educated voter will not rely on the word of the media to make a decision on who to vote for. Unfortunately, a large portion of Americans do not fall in that category, so media has been playing a huge role in the outcome of the popular vote thus far.

If the media could take a step back, maybe our country could start focusing on what really matters this election year- the issues, and most importantly choosing a quality person, and leader.