“I don’t use social media,” my cousin said, who happens to be (at twenty-nine years old), an executive for Google. “I really can’t stand it.”
I’m sure you’ve met people who don’t participate in social media. Yes, they do exist! According to the Pew Research Center nearly 72% of Americans use social media (Pew Research Center, 2021). In a way, those who eschew social media seem like the teetotalers of our modern age - met with raised eyebrows and disbelief. “Really? Not at all? No Twitter, no Facebook, no Snap, no Insta?” The rest of us (of a certain age) seem to be a combination of addicts and weekend bingers, except when we get fed up and go on a social media fast. In these times of vicious political discourse, social media abstinence sometimes feels like the best option.
The Bad & the Ugly
But really, how much of the discourse out there on social media is actually vicious? Not everyone is in agreement about whether social media is good or bad. Among the 66% of respondents who used social media, a 2021 NBC News Poll showed that 64 percent of them believed social media does more to divide us than it does to bring us together (Murray, 2021). Only 57% of respondents to the same poll given in 2019 found social media divisive, so perceptions of social media seem to be growing increasingly negative over time - but is that due to social media itself, or simply a reflection of our national political polarization? Does social media help build community or does it further divide it?
Facebook, as one of the earliest social media platforms and now the largest, initially presented itself as a community builder. In the early days of Facebook, founder Mark Zuckenberg said its purpose was “about helping people share information and share themselves,” with a focus on connecting family and friends, but by 2015 that purpose evolved to a mission to “connect the world,” not just for family and friends but also “ helping people connect with businesses, governments and other organizations in their lives” (Chaim Gartenberg, 2019).
Whatever intentions the initial Facebook team had, the Facebook of today is big business focused on connections between advertiser and consumer, to the tune of $29 billion of profit in 2020. Facebook’s pursuit of profits came under fire in September of 2021 when whistle blower Frances Haugen came forward accusing the company of putting profits before people. Haugen, a former employee, claimed that Facebook allows hate speech and misinformation to spread on the platform, sharing an internal company memo that stated “we also have compelling evidence that our core product mechanics, such as vitality, recommendations and optimizing for engagement, are a significant part of why these types of speech flourish on the platform”(Facebook revelations: what is in cache of internal documents?, 2021).
So Facebook’s own research seems to show that social media is helping to divide us, but things get interesting when you look at who is responsible for creating much of the divisive rhetoric out there. Whether or not you have an opinion that social media is good or bad, it is a powerful platform, and bad actors have taken note and worked to weaponize it. “Troll farms,” or paid groups of online agitators, are often deployed by foreign powers with an eye towards destabilizing rival countries. These “malicious actors can erode trust in institutions and breed an atmosphere of contempt, distrust, and even violence among citizens (Weaponizing Social Media: Heinz Experts on Troll Farms and Fake News, 2018). An internal Facebook report stated that, in the months prior to the 2020 presidential election, 140 million Americans a month were reached on Facebook by propaganda and misinformation generated by troll farms (Agustin, n.d.).
The Good?
So what good does social media do, aside from giving grandma a quick way to see pictures of the grandkids, and letting me know what that old college friend of mine had for dinner yesterday? Is this all the good that social media can do? Given all the crap that we can encounter given the prevalence of troll farms or that out-there family member, is it worth using?
In a 2009 Ted Talk, “How Social Media Can Make History,” social media theorist Clay Shirky talks about seismic shifts in communication technology like the printing press, telephone, radio and television and…you guessed it, social media. Unlike previous shifts that enabled two-way communication that was still primarily speaker to audience, suddenly with social media, everyone can craft content immediately launched on a public platform. Those who were just part of an audience receiving communications are now active participants in a media that is “global, social, ubiquitous and cheap” (Shirky, 2014).
When people are empowered as participants in the realm of media, good things can happen. We might not even know George Floyd’s name if it weren’t for the capacity of social media to empower the powerless. In countries with repressive governments, social media is an avenue to expose corruption and spur activism. Public opinion can still be a powerful driver in politics or with corporations in terms of driving change, and social media is a platform that can rally the masses.
The Future
Still not sure if social media is more good than bad? Check out this 2021 Pew Research Center report “The Future of Digital Spaces and Their Role in Democracy,” for industry expert predictions of how social media will continue to develop over the next fifteen years. In a survey of 862 digital industry experts, 61% thought digital spaces could evolve to better serve the public good, if current issues of disinformation and toxic discourse are addressed and reformed (Janna et al., 2021).
Because regardless of whether it is used for good or for ill, social media is used a lot - and it’s here to stay. The platforms we use might change - even as Facebook is dominant in the social mediascape currently, it is losing traction among younger folks, who prefer TikTok, SnapChat, and YouTube (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Platforms will evolve but this new media environment of shared conversation will continue, and our job is to advocate for vigilance and reform on platforms so we can benefit from the good and guard against the bad.
References
Agustin, F. (n.d.). Troll farms peddling misinformation on Facebook reached 140 million Americans monthly ahead of the 2020 presidential election, report says. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-troll-farms-peddling-misinformation-reached-nearly-half-of-americans-2021-9
Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018, May 31). Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
Auxier, B., & Anderson, M. (2021, April 7). Social Media Use in 2021. Pew Research Center; Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/
Chaim Gartenberg. (2019, March 8). What is Facebook? Just ask Mark Zuckerberg. The Verge; The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/8/18255269/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-definition-social-media-network-sharing-privacy
Facebook revelations: what is in cache of internal documents? (2021, October 25). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/25/facebook-revelations-from-misinformation-to-mental-health
Janna, erson, & Rainie, L. (2021, November 22). The Future of Digital Spaces and Their Role in Democracy. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/11/22/the-future-of-digital-spaces-and-their-role-in-democracy/
Murray, Mark (2021). Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Americans say social media platforms are tearing us apart. NBC News.
Pew Research Center. (2021, April 7). Social Media Fact Sheet. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/
Shirky, C. (2014). How social media can make history. Ted.com; TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_social_media_can_make_history
Weaponizing Social Media: Heinz Experts on Troll Farms and Fake News. (2018). Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/media/2018/October/troll-farms-and-fake-news-social-media-weaponization
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