How Facebook is changing Southport's 2023 mayoral race – WHQR

Southport is one of the more recognizable small towns in coastal North Carolina. Tourists know the town for its Fourth of July Festival, the 2002 film A Walk to Remember, and what residents call its “salubrious breezes.” But according to Joe Pat Hatem, who has been mayor of Southport since 2019, there’s one thing it’s never been known for: its Internet presence.”You know, the previous mayor didn’t even use the computer or email or anything like that,” he said.That all changed fairly recently. The combined forces of population growth and pandemic-era connection has suddenly made the Internet much more popular in this small rural community. And for the first time, candidates have to contend with its influence on local politics.Why now?You might be wondering why it took this long — the Internet, which turned 30 this year, has long swayed American elections big and small. But Brunswick County is a little different. It has a very high retiree population: the median age is 55, sixteen years older than the statewide average. This is also a fairly rural area, so the infrastructure for quality internet has only recently started to build up.That’s not to say Brunswick County was always off the
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