I am a 24-year-old, Korean-American post-grad, and I have been reading about every turn of this year’s presidential campaign entirely on my phone, mostly right before bed.

Yes, it is a bad habit, and yes, the blue light is suppressing my pineal gland from releasing delicious melatonin into my brain, but I wouldn’t want to get my news any other way.

If in my late-night reading I am not being smothered in “Make America Great Again” Donald Trump Sauce, I am usually consuming article after article about Bernie Sanders. So it’s been odd seeing recent headlines declaring variations on the theme of “Bernie Sanders gets snubbed by the media.”

As I lay in bed, scrolling through my news feed, it occurred to me: There is a big distinction in the type of media those articles mentioned and the type of media I consume.

I am a millennial who is getting all of the breakdowns, projections and birds-landing-on-podium videos in the form of media that I have personalized for myself, mainly through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. My idea of “news” comes through media I have filtered for my interests, and it is delivered in varied and unbiased ways — unlike some traditional media where outlets such as Fox News paint a pretty right-wing picture.

I look to these modern media because I also want to know what my peers think. Online I am often confronted with viewpoints that are not aligned with mine, and if both parties are incisive, discussions can be informative when I participate. My phone can be turned into a Socratic seminar about current affairs if I play my social media handles well, and that is exciting.

I like my form of media because the engagement sustains my passion for current politics. Online I not only keep up with my interests, but I am motivated to keep up with candidates and opinions that I do not care so much about. The Internet allows you to find answers to your questions, but it also confronts you with other things you would not be inclined to seek. I think this makes folks like me who tune in online more informed.

So why do I bring up Sanders? Because when I saw headlines saying, “Bernie Sanders gets snubbed by the media,” the notion didn’t apply to me. I am given information on him daily. This is a new trend of media and politics that I see, that those on the Internet know exactly whom they are going to vote for and why they are not voting for someone else. My form of media will not only tell me about my candidate, it will also accost me with the latest Trump news, and I will read it because it is interesting to see all sides of this equation.

Content generated online for all candidates is so plentiful and entertaining that it’s all that really matters to the youth who will vote in November — and we will turn out at the polls. We are not sitting and waiting to find out how things unfold; we’re actively participating.

Another important effect of social media is that those who aren’t politically inclined are pushed to participate in some form or another because it is important to so many others on social media.

It is important that one voice can be supported by the voices of hundreds of thousands of others online — and that this virtual presence can become loud enough to enact real change. Take it or leave it, social media have changed the politics game, and it’s all being harvested by the nimble and studious fingers of America’s excited youth. We are engaged in this election process because it is happening right now. We are engaged because it is a make-or-break moment for our future. We’re tired of people telling us what is best for us, so we’re making our own choices and we’re making them often and together.

The future is bright, but I can’t tell if it’s daytime yet, or if my phone is just keeping me awake.

By Christina Seo

Christina Seo, a Chicago-based comedian, humor writer and illustrator, is a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune. — Ed.

(Tribune Content Agency)