Aggressively pushing others to vote by guilt tripping or pressuring them does more harm than good and it needs to stop. People need to figure out how to actually encourage others to vote before the next election season or they’ll risk discouraging people from voting altogether.

U.S. citizens took to the polls on Nov. 6 to vote for the future of this country, and some voters took things too far when they began to make posts insulting or just guilting others into voting.

Peer pressure and guilt tripping others into voting may be effective to an extent as some people may fear disappointing their friends and peers, or even angering them by not voting.

However, this type of mentality can turn voting into more of a chore, instead of it being something one should do because they genuinely care about the future of their country.

People shouldn’t want to vote because they’re afraid, they should want to vote because they have been informed about the issues and genuinely care about making a difference.

When people feel that they are forced into doing something they’re more likely to just want to get things over with and may not take the time to get informed and make educated decisions.

Making poor decisions can be just as, if not more, detrimental than not voting at all because then people will be giving their support with their vote.

There’s a difference between encouraging others to vote and pressuring them to vote.

You can make informed posts telling people about policies and the people running, you can’t go around telling people that they’re ‘dumbasses’ for not voting.

Going around telling people that they’re dead to you just because they couldn’t or decided not to vote doesn’t make a positive impact on them, in fact it could just encourage them to continue not to vote.

Things that might actually get people to vote is taking the time to educate them on the voting process and spreading information that makes voting an easier process.

Help people figure out where their nearest poll is, post reminders of when and how ballots should be mailed and when polls open and close.

Posts informing people about propositions and the candidates on the ballot can making things seem less overwhelming and help people make their choices.

Tell others how the process to register to vote works, offer to provide transportation if someone you know doesn’t have any.

All these things would work so much better at motivating and encouraging others to vote than getting angry, insulting or making posts about disowning them ever would.

Some people may not vote because they don’t understand how things works or they are unaware of they options they have.

So before the next election season comes, help educate and inform instead of making passive aggressive posts that just make people feel bad instead of making them motivated to do what’s right and vote.