The United Kingdom had a vote last week regarding their place in the European Union. The EU is a politico-economic union containing mostly countries from Europe. It traces back to unions between countries in the 1950's and has been a uniting force in Europe ever since, acting within the limits of treaties to regulate and implement universal laws.

For this vote, there were only two options: leave or stay. Latest polls put the results at 52% for leave and 48% for stay. Leading up to the vote, Twitter and tumblr were awash with arguments and questions and nervous British citizens trying to convince people of what Brexit means for the United Kingdom.

As the results came in, it seemed that there was confusion and panic. While the whole of England and many other regions in the UK voted to leave, Northern Ireland and Scotland both voted overwhelmingly to remain. Rumors started about Northern Ireland considering a merge with Ireland, and Scotland opting for independence from England. Staying in the European Union was their preference, and they voted for that-but will be forced to go with what the rest of the United Kingdom voted. Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he would be stepping down and leaving most the of work of leaving the EU to his successor.

News coverage of this event appears to be largely the same. There is coverage from France, where people are saying "good riddance" and making fun of the UK for it's vote. A lot of papers are explaining what exactly this means for all of those who don't follow UK politics. The Washington Post wrote an article about people frantically googling Brexit after the vote.

Maybe it's because of the people I seem to follow on social media, but my Twitter page and tumblr page was flooded with people from Europe commenting on the vote, and reposting articles and tables explaining how terrible the break from the EU would be. According to the vote, older generations leaned more heavily towards leaving the EU while younger generations opted to remain. This caused a lot of complaining from the younger generation who will have to live with the decision for longer.

J.K. Rowling posted a lot of "Vote to Remain" propaganda and wrote an opinion piece on her website sorting out some misconceptions about Brexit. She talks about the power of individualism and the importance of independence. Upon reflection she says, "yet how can a retreat into selfish and insecure individualism be the right response when Europe faces genuine threats, when the bonds that tie us are so powerful, when we have come so far together? How can we hope to conquer the enormous challenges of terrorism and climate change without cooperation and collaboration?"

A tumblr user broke down the referendum for a follower, pointing out that the government is now compelled to leave the EU because of the vote, but that doesn't guarantee immediate action. They pointed out that the value of the British Pound dropped to the lowest levels since the 1980's and the country lost money as the votes came in. The user said "The LEAVE campaign was based on several big, farcical claims such as an extra £350 for the National Healthcare Service (the amount that was paid into the EU), and restrictions on immigration (because we won't have open borders with the EU), but now these two claims have now been RETRACTED now that the LEAVE campaign has won." The user also mentioned that they might not be guaranteed a general election with the Prime Minister stepping down.

So you can see how this is making a lot of people angry. An article from the New York Times states, "European leaders acknowledged that the British vote would further limit their ability to move forward with economic and political integration, a process that had all but stalled anyway." Leaving the EU is predicted to benefit Economists for Brexit, yet decrease the national income of almost every other demographic. While estimates may not be at all accurate and information on the internet is biased, the general consensus from what I've seen is that leaving the EU could have disastrous results.

For now, we've just got to wait and see what happens next. Good Luck, UK.