Social Media impact on the USA Government Shutdown

• Whilst the government shutdown is not in the strictest sense a form of unrest, it can be described in the broader terms as unrest within the USA.
• The shutdown meant that 800,000 workers were out of work for a period of two weeks and this in turn lead to confusion across the country.
• Social media had an impact on this unrest as it allowed government officials to communicate their viewpoints on the shutdown directly to their followers. 
• The shutdown also produced trends on Twitter which allowed the general population to weigh in on the debate.
• Whilst social media didn't have an impact on the event itself, the aftermath and the confusion surrounding it was made bigger by the ability to utilise social media and this meant that many people were able to weigh in on the debate and communicate directly with those involved in it.
• The shutdown prompted many satirical hashtags and websites being set up to show a humorous though cynical response to the shutdown.