A means of connecting people and fostering community – this is how social media was seen in the early days. But today, things are different. To date, social networks have come under critique for spreading fake news, influencing elections for foreign players and monetizing users through targeted advertisements. Documentaries and essays about the negative impacts of social media have become popular, showing that many individuals are worried about these platforms.
One major criticism is that social media companies and their algorithms are responsible for enhancing political hostility and polarization. Some claim that online conversations can turn any of us into “trolls” who engage others in offensive or cynical debates. However, recent research studies from quantitative social sciences to psychology offer a mixed argument on this matter.
Social Contexts and Psychology
Research suggests that digital political conflicts partly stem from psychological/socioeconomic factors disassociated with digital platforms. A vast cross-national survey covering over 30 countries involving more than 15,000 respondents sought to establish their experiences concerning online discussions dealing with societal problems. Findings show that in economically unequal countries such as Turkey and Brazil there is high presence of hostility online. This kind of animosity appears to arise out of frustrations associated with oppressive social conditions as well as autocratic politics.
Another finding was that internet hostility is often related to a personality trait called status-driven risk-taking. This characteristic mainly entails wanting to be dominant over others hence intimidating them. Such people can be found more often in unequal or autocratic states. Additionally, individuals with this type of leader personality tend to share “fake news” ridiculing or insulting political opponents and get involved in local politics offline.
Moreover, there was a strong relationship between offline aggression towards others which has been taken online suggesting that those who are hostile while interacting on the Internet will most likely behave similarly when they meet face-to-face. This implies that the character traits combined with an environment that suppresses individual ambition is responsible for online political hostility that encourages division between “us” and “them.”
Social Networks as a Twisted Prism
However, social media platforms themselves do not act in isolation to fuel political aggression. Be it the click-baiting misinformation or unbalanced political messages, social networks can disseminate content to millions of people instantly. As a result, large groups can be easily misinformed or provoked.
This problem is further aggravated by many social media sites being anonymous and impersonal. In case strangers talk to each other anonymously they feel less personal responsibility toward what they say and do. Such perception makes them behave as if their interlocutors were not individuals but members of certain political tribes so there is no civility in communication process.
Moreover, more radicalized and committed individuals are often given voice on social media than those with moderate views. Algorithms prioritize content that attracts attention and triggers responses, which often includes divisive political messages. This creates a misleading impression that radical and hostile beliefs are more widespread and accepted than they actually are.
The Outcomes of Being Exposed to Opposing Views
Social media platforms, on the contrary, do not isolate individuals in echo chambers as is commonly thought but instead expose them to a range of viewpoints. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have many political perspectives among their users. It is expected that such exposure will foster empathy and tolerance for divergent opinions. Nonetheless, the truth is that online political statements tend to be crude and unrefined, simplifying opposing positions into stereotypes.
The investigations by sociologist Chris Bail show that ongoing exposure to implausible assertions or mean posts from political enemies can entrench existing views rather than enabling comprehension. The social media experiments he conducted on Twitter indicated that this exposure may strengthen partisan identities and pre-existing positions. This therefore indicates that instead of narrowing gaps, social media makes them wider because of adversarial content received.
Moving Forward: Addressing The Root Causes
The association between social media use and political polarization are multifaceted and influenced by several factors. Even though it can exacerbate political animosity, social networking sites are not solely responsible for its existence. Solving underlying economic inequalities which generates hatred remains fundamental in creating a more peaceful digital space.
Policymakers together with researchers should concentrate on ensuring there is fairness in wealth sharing besides enhancing democratic institutions so as to address web anger precipitating factors. Moreover, finding ways to encourage less hostile and more sophisticated conversations about politics over the internet would be helpful against bad consequences caused by algorithms used in social media systems.
To sum up, although social media platforms amplify partisan tensions through algorithms at play in them; these tensions stem from wider societal and psychological contexts than many people may think. Consequently, by attending to these foundational problems we can begin moving towards a more civilized manner of talking with each other online that would ultimately benefit all members of society within it.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.