In this day and age, many young people may associate the president with tedious and boring conversations about politics. However, President Obama, on his second-term press tour, has made strides to engage his younger audience by grabbing its attention where it spends most of its time—the Internet. By doing so, Obama is connecting with young audiences and increasing his likability as a president, thus modernizing the representation of the government and changing the way campaigns will be run in the future.

Obama’s online appearances began in February, when he starred in a comedic video for Buzzfeed. The video featured the President going through the mundane tasks of his “daily life”—dipping his cookies in milk, drawing pictures for his wife and using a selfie stick. Next, Obama appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in March, participating in the popular “Mean Tweets” segment, in which he read a collection of insulting tweets on camera. He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to “slow jam” the news. Additionally, he has participated in live interviews with three popular YouTube stars—Hank Green, GloZell and Bethany Mota—in an effort to reach a wider audience. Even first lady Michelle Obama has been making the rounds, most notably of which is her appearance on the Ellen Show to dance to “Uptown Funk.” This is an incredibly smart way for the president and the White House to address the younger generation because this method utilizes the Internet in a way that connects with an audience traditionally unengaged in politics, and also uses the social media to relay information and speeches.

With the growth of social media, Obama’s decision to alter his techniques could modernize campaigning for future presidents. Gaining support from younger age groups may be the deciding factor in winning an election, as it is a powerful group with large numbers. Utilizing the Internet may be the way to do so. However, some view these acts as silly marketing, and some critics even call these attempts un-presidential and inappropriate.

“Obama seems to not care about the separation between unconventional and innovative forms of reaching out to voters and just goofing off,” said Kevin O’Keeffe, a writer on mic.com, criticizing Obama’s press tour.

However, O’Keefe’s claims, amongst others, are false. It may seem like Obama is just “goofing off,” but engaging with social media is his way of connecting with and engaging the youth. It is a form of communication and maybe even propaganda.

At a time when technology is constantly evolving, government workers are kept on their feet to not only try to keep up with the technology, but also utilize the technology to communicate with as wide of an audience as possible. The government is constantly breaking precedent when it comes to the Internet. The White House has also established a huge presence on Facebook and Twitter and has even used a website called Medium to publish the State of the Union address before the president officially delivered the speech. Social media is the most efficient way to distribute information and reach wider audiences and has grown exponentially throughout the past several years, so government officials must now utilize this new form of communication.

As the world continues to rely more heavily on the Internet for news and entertainment, presidents will likely be taking advantage of the media and implementing these methods to communicate with the masses and engage a larger audience. This new communication may be the greatest marketing technique yet.