How Does Social Media Impact Society?

 HELLOOO EVERYBODY!!!! I am back to bring you one last blog post for this semester!! While I am glad that this is the last time I have to write a blog post for this class, I am going to miss talking to you guys every unit. What I am going to talk to you guys about today is a little harder to talk about. A lot of people would probably call it a little controversial, too. So, at this time, you are probably wondering what this topic is and how bad it could be. Well, I am going to be talking about politics and social media. More specifically, how social media impacts democracy. So for this blog post, I will be mainly talking about how Facebook has impacted modern democracy and if democracy is now broken, then can it be fixed again?

From the discussions we have had in my class, nobody could really explain if they thought social media did have an impact. When we began unpacking why we could not give an answer, we  discovered that a majority of my classmates did not really keep up with the political world. Even though it is a big thing that we should be keeping up with, nobody really cared or kept up with it on social media. One person specifically said that they would not participate or take action on anything political (not including voting). When I was listening to the conversations and heard the answers that everybody was giving, I became very surprised. Based off of everything I have seen on just about every social media platform, I thought that people my age were more politically active than they have been in a long time. But maybe that is another part of democracy that social media has affected.

As the years have passed, I would say that political parties have become more polarized . Or they have become more publicly polarized than before. It has been argued that the political parties have always been this level of polarized, but the circumstances of the time have made it seem like the two parties could get along. Ever since the creation of American democracy, people have been split on how America should be run. At that time, things also got really heated. I mean, there were a bunch of wars that were started because all parties were so opposed to the way the other parties wanted to run the country. The country comes together when some major tragedy happens. There have been multiple instances where the United States has gone into war. In that time, the country came together in a way it was not during the time period before. Then things slowly returned to the way things were before. But with the creation and development of social media, I believe that, at this point, no matter what happens, the parties will not ever get along. Things about politicians are constantly revealed on social media and so many rumors are spread, it does not matter if there is any truth to anything, if something gains traction online, anybody could believe it.

Facebook has been a major instigator in polarizing the parties. In class, we read Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy by Siva Vaidhyanathan. Vaidhyanathan believes that Facebook is one of the reasons why democracy is the way that it is today. In the book, she describes the reasons why she believes Facebook has been further separating political parties. The main reason why Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook was to connect with family and friends. He also said that he wanted to connect the whole world. While I do think he was able to connect friends, family, and the world, I think Facebook has evolved its usage into something else. The way Facebook's algorithm works, it relies on your likes, comments, and posts to suggest advertisements. Those ads have become more political and are pushing it on users' pages hard. It wouldn't matter if the advertisements were correct or fact-checked, if it was something Facebook knows you would be interested in, it would be recommended to you. Because of all of the incorrect information that is being pushed onto people's pages, people will believe it and it will warp their idea of what they think is correct.

To conclude this blog post, I want to talk about whether I think democracy is broken or not. I personally believe that democracy is broken. Not a lot of people have faith in the system anymore. Because of how much false information is online and how many people have seen it, they believe that democracy is working against them, as well as the opposing political party. People are so stuck in their beliefs that I believe they become hostile toward other people from the opposing political party. Social media is a big part of our everyday life; it's not going anywhere. Social media, specifically Facebook, has broken democracy. As long as people can access social media and incorrect information is still prominent, I don't think democracy can be fixed.

And that concludes my final blog post for this class. It's such a bittersweet feeling. I have enjoyed writing to all of you while I have been in this class.

I hope this has been an educational experience for all of you too!

Democracy is Dead, but was it Ever Truly Alive?

Democracy is Dead, but was it Ever Truly Alive? 

         The ways in which we think about politics in the age of social media have been greatly altered and have changed the dynamics of the political landscape. It is no secret that there has been growing polarization between the left and right in the United States (US). Both sides feel as though they are correct in their views, and cannot seem to agree on what to do about anything. While it has been historically evident that democrats and republicans have been on opposing sides, this sentiment seems to have grown and festered into the shitshow of incompetence we see before us. In addition, now people who align themselves with either side have widely accessible and numerous amounts of platforms to share the propaganda fed to them and contribute to the political polarization. Some would argue that nothing has changed, and we are merely becoming more aware of the vast political differences and viewpoints that exist because of social media. With more information and resources becoming available, it is no surprise that people on either side of the political spectrum will engage in confirmation bias and reinforce their beliefs, further cementing them and making them less receptive to criticism and differing belief systems. 

        Now all this is just the surface-level issues at hand. In order to adequately discuss the root causes of these issues, how they came to be, and how they can be fixed, it would take a lot more than a relatively short blog post. That being said, we can begin to understand the growing divide between political parties by revealing the truth of their existence and their historical purpose in the US. Howard Zinn wrote a terrific book, A Young People's History of the United States. This book generalizes American history and looks at it through a more objective lens than what is commonly taught in American history books. Truly, it is a book that everyone should probably read to better understand how our country was built and what the true motivations were for some of America's infamous decisions. Around the time of Andrew Jackson's presidency, political parties started to arise and garner attention, but this was not by accident. Andrew Jackson campaigned on the idea that he would be the "voice" of the working class, those who were not a part of the elite wealthy. This gave people an illusion of choice by offering two political parties to choose from, all while knowing they will choose the seemingly more democratic side. This was done to control the masses and garner support from the lower classes when necessary. Leaders of the parties, the wealthy elite, understood that they could keep control and power in the government if they gave people occasional reforms that would grant some of the wishes of the general public, but not everything (Zinn & Stefoff, 2007). To anyone, that is not democracy. When people are given an illusion of choice, and their choices are limited, true democracy, one in which the voices of many are heard and considered, never existed. 

        Just from that short excerpt of the book, we can begin to understand that democrats and republicans, historically, have never had the best interest of the working class and general public in mind. Yet, as we see in the current political landscape, people are eager to idolize elected officials of either party and support their motives without any deeper knowledge. In social media and people's use of it politically, it is evident that people are eager to pick a side and lean heavily into it, even if they do not understand what they are aligning themselves with. For instance, a lot of people have and continue blindly vote for elected officials who are a part of the political party they align with, often neglecting to go out and look for the official's policies and beliefs. There is a concerning amount of blind trust in people for their political party, and it is likely part of the reason we are where we are now. 

        Going further, the idea of compromise and mutual understanding of desired goals between political parties is a joke. People still believe that "each party cares about the same issues, we just have different solutions" and it is almost baffling. There are evil, wealthy, powerful people in elected office or otherwise influencing American politics through their money and lobbying, and they do not care about serving the general public and working class. The two-party system is likely taking advantage of the current political polarization within the public in order to further divide and control the lower classes and reduce any chance of genuine revolution or reform, disguising their incompetence in favor of blaming each other to give people the impression that "oh, the other side is so stubborn, that is why nothing is getting done and things are still bad."  

        This all sounds like a conspiracy when it is said aloud, I mean after all, who would want to believe that the government does not serve them. However, it could be argued that there is enough evidence to suggest there could be some truth in all of this. Furthermore, there is still so much more to be discussed and touched on to have a better understanding of this topic. Fortunately, in this age of social media, hope is not lost. With the resources and technology we have now, we can better educate ourselves and detach from the constant propaganda and talking points pushed by the left and right. We can conduct our own research into the issues, spread that information to others, and create an online environment dedicated to cultivating more informed minds. Hopefully, then, the steps toward progressive reform and getting the government to work for the American people will be taken. 

Facebook and its effects upon democracy

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Whether you are a part of the Facebook community or not you likely know someone who is an avid Facebook user, or you at least are familiar with the popular social media platform. It’s the app where you can find recent news, articles, videos, and where your family posts embarrassing childhood photos of you. Since Facebook's start in February of 2004, it has become one of the most commonly used social media apps offered to internet users. 

With Facebook being around for as long as it has, I believe it’s safe to say that we’ve grown accustomed to its presence in our day-to-day society. It seems that Facebook will remain a place to share, post, and like until we find ourselves sick of it. Just as many apps before it and many apps that will come after it.

However, perhaps we are underestimating the amount of power Facebook has as a social media app. Although we have labeled Facebook as this app as one for our parents and grandparents, this app can impact a lot more than we give it credit for.

As of recently, we have considered how social media has impacted American democracy. We’ve grown up learning that our system of government was built upon the procedure that eligible voters in the US could vote for elected officials to represent them. That’s how it’s been and continues to be.

In his book titled Antisocial Media, author Siva Vaidhyanathan explores how Facebook can be a problem to American democracy. 

“The Idea of bringing the world closer together has animated and driven Zuckerberg from the beginning,” Vaidhyanathan stated. This desire to connect people has been the driving force that has resulted in what Facebook has evolved into over the years. Facebook has now become a means of virtually interacting with friends and family, online dating, and receiving news from various regions of the world. Needless to say, Facebook has definitely fulfilled the goal of connecting others. Zuckerberg even went as far as to think that the connectedness that his app offers even helps the democratic process.

However, Vaidhyanathan argues otherwise. He suggests that Facebook as a social platform contributes more negative effects to our democracy than anything. And in addition to that, Facebook has grown far too big for us to try and control these negative effects. 

One negative attribute of Facebook is that it provides an easy means of spreading false information. Anyone with a Facebook account can post just about any material as long as it falls in line with general guidelines that Facebook has implemented for users. Which is not very limiting when you really look at the specifics of the guidelines themselves. Afterall, Facebook still manages to spread material that spikes rises in discrimination, bigotry, and violence. 

These posts that propose misleading narratives on a variety of subjects often generate strong reactions from users. Which can also result in a confrontational divide between people. People with opposing views and interpretations that stem from these posts often will bicker amongst each other. Vaidhyanathan points out that due to this common occurrence, Facebook offers no means of having a constructive, productive conversation. 

Vaidhyanathan also notes that Facebook takes the data that it has collected on your interactions (likes, comments, shares) and uses that to present you with similar content. Vaidhyanathan describes this as Facebook rewarding users with more of what they tell the companies they want. 

Let’s look at my own Facebook for a minute. I’ll admit that I don’t use Facebook that often. I mainly use it to stay updated with family members. But I’ve interacted with content just enough to where Facebook has gathered some understanding of the material that I'm interested in seeing. Just by scrolling through my Facebook feed for about five minutes, here are a few of the post that it suggested to me:

If you can’t tell by that alone, I’m a major nerd. So Facebook has used its algorithm to suggest to me posts that relate to fandoms such as Avatar the Last Airbender, Star Wars, and the Marvel cinematic universe. I don’t know when I first interacted with the initial post that taught Facebook that I’m interested in nerd material, but all it took was me doing so in order for Facebook to keep showing me things related to these topics. Now this isn’t related to politics, but you can by now understand how Facebook can do the same with people who interact with political material. All it takes is for a user to like one post related to a specific side of the political spectrum for it to filter more material related to that kind of political view.

Another negative aspect about Facebook is that it contributes to the dwindling faith in American democracy. There are some people that believe that democracy doesn't exist. That it is instead a false narrative that we have been fed from the beginning of our lives. According to Vaidhyanathan, those that don’t believe in democracy don’t care about the truth. They will just choose to believe what they wish to believe. 

This lack of truth and trust has been made apparent on Facebook. It appears that some have placed their trust in Facebook and Google rather than news outlets and original sources. Instead of lending their ears to those that dedicate their professions to revealing the truth to the public, they would rather just dismiss it all together. 

Which lends the question: If we can’t have trust in anything, can we have trust that our own democratic system will be okay?

In addition to this question, we should also recap that Facebook is contributing towards the deteriorating faith in American democracy, encouraging confrontations amongst users over disagreements, and is spreading hate. With that recapped, should Facebook be continued to be allowed to operate in the current state that it’s in? 

Facebook has clearly shown that through its mission of connectedness, it has managed to grow to an extreme that no one considered it ever would. And through this growth we are beginning to acknowledge the negative effects that Facebook offers. 

Is there hope for American democracy with Facebook being a present factor? Or should we reevaluate how we utilize this app in order to minimize the concerning effects that it has demonstrated in regards to maintaining democracy?