impact of social media on elections essay

The Effect of Social Media on Elections: Evidence from the United States

We study how social media affects election outcomes in the United States. We use variation in the number of Twitter users across counties induced by early adopters at the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a key event in Twitter's rise to popularity. We show that this variation is unrelated to observable county characteristics and electoral outcomes before the launch of Twitter. Our results indicate that Twitter lowered the Republican vote share in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but had limited effects on Congress elections and previous presidential elections. Evidence from survey data, primary elections, and a text analysis of millions of tweets suggests that Twitter's relatively liberal content may have persuaded voters with moderate views to vote against Donald Trump.

We are grateful to Pablo Barbera, Levi Boxell, Matt Gentzkow, Ro’ee Levy, Alexey Makarin, Jesse Shapiro, James Snyder, Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, as well as seminar participants at Princeton University, Imperial College, Warwick University, Bocconi University, University of California San Diego, OPESS, Università di Bergamo, the 2021 ASSA Conference, and the NBER Political Economy Spring 2021 Meeting for their helpful comments. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Social Media's Impact on the 2020 Presidential Election: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Social media has been a tool for boosting civic engagement, but also a vehicle for surprisingly convincing fake news.

In the Forbes article, Social Media Could Determine The Outcome Of The 2020 Election , social media is acknowledged as an important platform this year for reaching youth and reports a massive and continuous increase in engagement during this election cycle. Although it’s too early to determine exact causation, NPR, in an October 29 article on surging youth turnout , shared that the number of early voters under 30 who are voting for the first time in their life is more than double the number of first-time voters at this point in the 2016 election.

In fact, experts believe that social media has positively impacted civic engagement, registration, and early voting across the board. Many states have reported record breaking new voter registration numbers and nationwide, early voting has broken historic records at 99.7 million early votes submitted (already more than two-thirds of the total votes cast in 2016). “Get out the vote” (GOTV) ads and communications on social media, an umbrella term used to describe actions taken to get supporters of a campaign to turn up at the polls, are nearly impossible to miss when scrolling through social apps.

“For people who are on social media, it is virtually impossible to avoid reminders and encouragement to vote,” remarked Dr. Jen Golbeck, professor at the University of Maryland College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool) and expert in social networks. “In as much as these platforms can impact decisions, they are pushing hard to get people to turnout.”

Although increased engagement in social media appears to have played a key role in increasing civic engagement, there is also a downside – misinformation and disinformation. In the past few weeks leading up to Election Day, there has been a unique rise in cases of video manipulation where video clips are edited to make candidates appear to be making mis-steps that they didn’t commit, slurring words or appearing less competent, and some deep fakes, a technique using artificial intelligence to fabricate images and videos most often used for malicious purposes, where videos are computer generated to show false footage.

“While [social media] platforms prohibit this, they often get posted, viewed, and shared millions of times,” Golbeck said on the rise of these malicious efforts. “One of the main manipulation techniques used to add legitimacy to candidates and positions is to use bots or super active accounts to make things look popular - fact-checkers are critical for helping understand who and what can be trusted.” Golbeck suggests using sites such as FactCheck.org , to find accurate information on candidates as we head to the polls.

To find out your voting location, visit Vote.org , or for those in the UMD community, visit UMD’s election resources webpage dedicated to providing a comprehensive list of polling locations and hours.

(Original news story written by Hayleigh Moore & Mia Hinckle)

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How does social media use influence political participation and civic engagement? A meta-analysis

2015 paper in Information, Communication & Society reviewing existing research on how social media use influences measures such as voting, protesting and civic engagement.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by John Wihbey, The Journalist's Resource October 18, 2015

This <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/social-media-influence-politics-participation-engagement-meta-analysis/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist's Resource</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;">

Academic research has consistently found that people who consume more news media have a greater probability of being civically and politically engaged across a variety of measures. In an era when the public’s time and attention is increasingly directed toward platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, scholars are seeking to evaluate the still-emerging relationship between social media use and public engagement. The Obama presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 and the Arab Spring in 2011 catalyzed interest in networked digital connectivity and political action, but the data remain far from conclusive.

The largest and perhaps best-known inquiry into this issue so far is a 2012 study published in the journal Nature , “A 61-Million-Person Experiment in Social Influence and Political Mobilization,” which suggested that messages on users’ Facebook feeds could significantly influence voting patterns. The study data — analyzed in collaboration with Facebook data scientists — suggested that certain messages promoted by friends “increased turnout directly by about 60,000 voters and indirectly through social contagion by another 280,000 voters, for a total of 340,000 additional votes.” Close friends with real-world ties were found to be much more influential than casual online acquaintances. (Following the study, concerns were raised about the potential manipulation of users and “digital gerrymandering.” )

There are now thousands of studies on the effects of social networking sites (SNS) on offline behavior, but isolating common themes is not easy. Researchers often use unique datasets, ask different questions and measure a range of outcomes. However, a 2015 metastudy in the journal Information, Communication & Society , “Social Media Use and Participation: A Meta-analysis of Current Research,” analyzes 36 studies on the relationship between SNS use and everything from civic engagement broadly speaking to tangible actions such as voting and protesting. Some focus on youth populations, others on SNS use in countries outside the United States. Within these 36 studies, there were 170 separate “coefficients” — different factors potentially correlated with SNS use. The author, Shelley Boulianne of Grant MacEwan University (Canada), notes that the studies are all based on self-reported surveys, with the number of respondents ranging from 250 to more than 1,500. Twenty studies were conducted between 2008 and 2011, while eight were from 2012-2013.

The study’s key findings include:

• Among all of the factors examined, 82% showed a positive relationship between SNS use and some form of civic or political engagement or participation. Still, only half of the relationships found were statistically significant. The strongest effects could be seen in studies that randomly sampled youth populations.
• The correlation between social-media use and election-campaign participation “seems weak based on the set of studies analyzed,” while the relationship with civic engagement is generally stronger.
• Further, “Measuring participation as protest activities is more likely to produce a positive effect, but the coefficients are not more likely to be statistically significant compared to other measures of participation.” Also, within the area of protest activities, many different kinds of activities — marches, demonstrations, petitions and boycotts — are combined in research, making conclusions less valid. When studies do isolate and separate out these activities, these studies generally show that “social media plays a positive role in citizens’ participation.”
• Overall, the data cast doubt on whether SNS use “causes” strong effects and is truly “transformative.” Because few studies employ an experimental design, where researchers could compare a treatment group with a control group, it is difficult to claim causality.

“Popular discourse has focused on the use of social media by the Obama campaigns,” Boulianne concludes. “While these campaigns may have revolutionized aspects of election campaigning online, such as gathering donations, the metadata provide little evidence that the social media aspects of the campaigns were successful in changing people’s levels of participation. In other words, the greater use of social media did not affect people’s likelihood of voting or participating in the campaign.”

It is worth noting that many studies in this area take social media use as the starting point or “independent variable,” and therefore cannot rule out that some “deeper” cause — political interest, for example — is the reason people might engage in SNS use in the first place. Further, some researchers see SNS use as a form of participation and engagement in and of itself, helping to shape public narratives and understanding of public affairs.

Related research: Journalist’s Resource has been curating a wide variety of studies in this field. See research reviews on: Effects of the Internet on politics ; global protest and social media ; digital activism and organizing ; and the Internet and the Arab Spring . For cutting-edge insights on how online organizing and mobilization is evolving, see the 2015 study “Populism and Downing Street E-petitions: Connective Action, Hybridity, and the Changing Nature of Organizing,” published in Political Communication .

Keywords: social media, Facebook, Twitter

About The Author

John Wihbey

Economics CAGE Research Centre

The effect of social media on elections: evidence from the united states.

700/2023 Thomas Fujiwara, Karsten Muller, Carlo Schwarz

We study how social media affects election outcomes in the United States. We use variation in the number of Twitter users across counties induced by early adopters at the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a key event in Twitter’s rise to popularity. We show that this variation is unrelated to observable county characteristics and electoral outcomes before the launch of Twitter. Our results indicate that Twitter lowered the Republican vote share in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but had limited effects on Congressional elections and previous presidential elections. Evidence from survey data, primary elections, and text analysis of millions of tweets suggests that Twitter’s relatively liberal content may have persuaded voters with moderate views to vote against Donald Trump.

Political Economy

National Bureau of Economic Research

https://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w28849

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The Effect of Social Media on Elections: Evidence from the United States

NBER Working Paper No. w28849

87 Pages Posted: 31 May 2021 Last revised: 30 Apr 2023

Thomas Fujiwara

Princeton University

Karsten Müller

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Department of Finance

Carlo Schwarz

Bocconi University - Department of Economics

Date Written: May 2021

We study how social media affects election outcomes in the United States. We use variation in the number of Twitter users across counties induced by early adopters at the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a key event in Twitter's rise to popularity. We show that this variation is unrelated to observable county characteristics and electoral outcomes before the launch of Twitter. Our results indicate that Twitter lowered the Republican vote share in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but had limited effects on Congress elections and previous presidential elections. Evidence from survey data, primary elections, and a text analysis of millions of tweets suggests that Twitter's relatively liberal content may have persuaded voters with moderate views to vote against Donald Trump.

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Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout Essay

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Why Voter Turnout Is Essential

People have to make their choices day by day, and each decision plays an important role in their lives. However, there is one type of choice that is crucial for every person. It is called an election, a decision-making process that is taken by an adult population to choose a person to a public office. There are many different aspects of elections that have to be under control and analyzed to achieve the required results. Voter turnout is one such aspect.

It introduces the percentage of voters, who can influence the results of the elections. Each country has its demands in regards to eligible voters, still, there is one point the role of which remains to be unchangeably important in all regions – social media. The evaluation of voting as a rational choice made by people with specific social preferences and concerns about their social welfare will be developed to explain the factors that give people the incentive to vote and prove the possibility of social media to increase voter turnout.

Voting turnout is essential for elections because it shows how many people are eager to vote and what can make them choose this or that candidate. As a rule, low turnout is undesirable for the world of politics because it signals about the indifference of people on what happens in the world and their country, in particular. If voter turnout is low, it means that people need additional motivation and explanations to attract more attention to the idea of voting and its importance.

For example, several years ago, Smith and Foster (2012) offered the idea to introduce the day of elections as a national holiday that could be celebrated every four years. Such a solution could help to get people interested in the polls and make them believe in the worth of the offered activity.

Still, elections should be regarded as entertainment only. It is necessary to take serious analytical steps to improve the situation and understand what can influence the rates of voter turnout and why turnout is crucial for the world of politics. The investigations of Schulman (n.d.) show that lower turnout can be explained by the requirement for voters to register before the actual elections. Americans have to pass through several stages to get access to voting. They have to re-register each time they move, register 30 days before the elections, and take several additional steps that allow them to participate in elections. Some Americans just do not have time to pass through all those formalities.

What Does Rational Choice Theory of Vote Say about Voter Turnout

There are many people, who are ready to vote even if they know that the probability of their votes is rather small. There are several investigations based on the peculiarities of voting behavior and its connection to the rational choice theory that helps to comprehend the factors that cause voting (Gelman & Kaplan 2008). The main idea of the rational choice theory is about the opportunity to make logical decisions that help to achieve the greatest benefit or satisfaction with the decision made.

In other words, the rational choice theorists try to use the economic approach to the world of politics to achieve the benefits and investigate the motives, beliefs, and needs of people involved in a voting process (Eriksson 2011). The rational choice theory is the framework that aims at analyzing social behavior and identifying the determinants of the people’s choices. In this project, the goal is to understand what makes people vote, and if social media may increase the voter turnout.

Nowadays, many factors may influence voters during the election processes. People pay their attention to such issues as background, political identification, past performance, and the possible influence of political views. However, if a single voter was asked about their true intentions to vote, the answers could be diverse indeed: some people could talk about their deep interests in politics, some people might be eager to choose a right person to lead the country (if presidential elections were evaluated), some people could underline the idea of their patriotism, and some people might just say that it is their obligation, and they could not neglect it (Rolfe 2012).

Each time after presidential elections take place, analytics and theorists try to offer their explanations and evaluations of the events that have recently taken place. They investigate the factors that make people vote, analyze the conditions that could increase or decrease their intentions to participate in voting, and suggest their ideas on how to improve the results during the next elections. Leighley and Nagler (2013) identify several demographic characteristics that are taken into consideration when people get involved in election practices: education, income, age, gender, maternal status, and ethnicity.

For example, older people are more eager to vote in comparison to youths. Therefore, many political election campaigns try to identify the age of their potential voters and develop campaigns regarding their potential voters’ preferences.

The majority of rational choice theories of elections introduce a mixed picture concerning turnout, party competition, and the decisions made by voters (Bendor et al. 2011). Voter turnout has to be increased, and social media may be regarded as one of the possible sources to attract more people and underline the importance of voting for people.

How Does Rational Choice Theory’s Assumptions of Utility Relate to Social Media and Turnout

Taking into consideration the fact that nowadays several people are fond of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources, the impact of such a source can be observed in the world of politics as well. Many researchers and journalists try to understand if there is a relation between social media and voter turnout (Levine 2014; Markoff 2012; Sedghi 2015). The conclusions of their studies vary.

For example, Markoff (2012) admits that the effect of social media remains to be measurable on voter turnout and mentions the existing connection between the online world and the real world. Besides, it is hard to check if the information offered online is true or not because the majority of social media sources are declared as apolitical (Levine 2014). Many Twitter users are uninterested in political discussions and refuse the idea of political content on their pages. Therefore, it is hard to believe that social media can influence and lead to positive results and increased voter turnout.

In general, though many young people tend to think that their decision to use social media may influence their votes (Sedghi 2015), the results of the studies and research prove that social media can hardly increase voter turnout. People may believe in their connection online and try to share their political thoughts. Still, today, it is hard to prove that online voting and online political discussions can help to underline the importance of voter turnout in different parts of the world.

Bendor, J, Diermeier, D, Siegel, DA & Ting, MM 2011, A behavioral theory of elections, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Eriksson, L 2011, Rational choice theory: potential and limits , Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Gelman, A & Kaplan, N 2008, ‘ Voting as a rational decision ’, VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal . Web.

Leighley, JE & Nagler, J 2013, Who votes now?: demographics, issues, inequality, and turnout in the United States, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Levine, P 2014, ‘Social media hasn’t boosted young voter turnout’, The Washington Post . Web.

Markoff, J 2012, ‘ Social networks can affect voter turnout, study says ’, The New York Times. Web.

Rolfe, M 2012, Voter turnout: a social theory of political participation, Cambridge University Press, New York.

Schulman, M n.d., ‘ Voter turnout in the Unites States ’, History Central . Web.

Sedghi, A 2015, ‘ A third of young people think social media will influence their vote ’, The Guardian. Web.

Smith, RC & Foster, M 2012, ‘It’s time to make election day a national holiday (once every four years!)’, Huffpost Politics . Web.

• Hillary Clinton and John Mccain: Media's Defeat
• Struggle for Democracy: President Interview
• State and Local Governments Analysis
• Methods for Improving Voter Turnout in the U.S.
• Motivating Voters in Political Campaigns
• Presidential Campaigns and Print Medias
• The US Presidential Elections of 2016
• Hindsight Bias for US Political Elections in 2016
• Ex-Felons' Voting and Transformational Leadership
• Political Competition and Transparency in Iran
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2020, September 1). Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-impact-on-voter-turnout/

"Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout." IvyPanda , 1 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-impact-on-voter-turnout/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout'. 1 September.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout." September 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-impact-on-voter-turnout/.

1. IvyPanda . "Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout." September 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-impact-on-voter-turnout/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Social Media Impact on Voter Turnout." September 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-impact-on-voter-turnout/.

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Home / Blog

Social Media’s Influence on Elections

January 3, 2022 

Savvy leaders have often leveraged new media to influence politics. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s adoption of the radio and John F. Kennedy’s use of television bridged communication gaps between politicians and the public to great political success.

Social media’s influence on elections was evident in the early 2000s. Barack Obama harnessed social media in his first presidential campaign to rally a majority of voters and win the 2008 election. Around 74% of internet users sought election news online during Obama’s first campaign, representing 55% of the entire adult population at the time, according to Pew Research Center.

Social media plays a powerful role in local elections as well. Beto O’Rourke’s near upset of incumbent Senator Ted Cruz in 2018 is a notable example. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the 2018 Texas Senate race broke the record for the most money spent in a U.S. Senate election — $93 million— much of which was raised by and spent on social media ads and events.

With candidates diverting so many resources to social media campaigns, understanding how social media influences elections and what voters can do to navigate the web wisely is crucial.

“I Voted”: The Power of Social Norms

Peer pressure seems to correlate with political activity. In a 2012 study cited in Psychology Today, creating a social norm (an unspoken standard of behavior deemed appropriate and good) around civic duty, such as voting or contacting elected representatives, encouraged more civic participation.

For example, when Facebook users were shown an “I voted” button along with a message that highlighted their friends who had already voted, they were far more likely to vote than if they were solely shown an informational message.

Algorithms, Big Data, and Microtargeting

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram, companies design social media platforms to curate information for people based on specific factors:

• Demographic information (age, gender, and location)
• Interests (for example, soccer, music, or photography)
• Engagement (for example, “likes,” clicks, or time spent on page)

As a user engages — navigating, posting, checking, clicking, liking — the social platform shows the user more content of a similar type.

Platforms curate political information through the same process. A user who sets their location to St. Louis may notice newly recommended Missouri political forums on their social media feed, for example.

Microtargeting

This model of content curation (sometimes described as “the algorithm”) empowers advertisers to target ads to specific demographic groups. Political campaigns regularly pay social media platforms to push political ads to prospective voters.

An important consideration is that social media operates as designed. Companies may have innocent intentions when creating a social media platform, yet good intentions do not ensure a positive impact. Like any communication technology, social media can be used for any number of purposes, many of which arguably undermine civil discourse.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced it will no longer allow advertisers to buy targeted ads based on sensitive user data — including political affiliation — starting in January 2022.

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica successfully collected and sold social media user information to influence voters with targeted ads.

Its strategy? Collect widely available demographic data from social media platforms on a massive scale. The firm then used large-scale modeling to conduct election analyses and make statistically calculated predictions about what sorts of advertisements might appeal most to members of different groups.

Misinformation, Echo Chambers, and the Bandwagon Effect

An echo chamber is a setting that reinforces rather than challenges existing beliefs. Studies such as research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2021 show that social media’s content curation creates political echo chambers.

Political echo chambers are a natural extension of social media’s impersonal algorithm, wherein a platform analyzes a user based on their engagement and then shows them more content of a similar type. For example, a platform is more likely to recommend a politically left-leaning person more left-leaning content.

Data shows that social media has become more insular. A 2020 YouGov poll found that around 24% of Democrats were not friends with anyone who held very different political views from them, up from 10% in 2016.

Thus, social media echo chambers give rise to the bandwagon effect. Social media amplifies and reinforces mass media’s messages (for example, from cable news channels) without context or fact-checking, which can affect the public’s perceptions of candidates and their platforms.

This allows misinformation to spread quickly and easily. When all messages on a person’s social media pages cohere with their existing beliefs, and no one within their social circle steps up to challenge those messages, misinformation spreads unchecked.

Politicization of Social Media Spaces

Another negative effect of social media on voters includes a sense of political information overload on social media platforms.

According to a Pew Research Center poll that looked at political perceptions in 2016 and again in 2020:

• The number of people who found political discussions via social media “interesting and informative” decreased from 35% in 2016 to 26% in 2020.
• About 55% of social media users in the U.S. felt “worn out” by the number of political posts on social media, up nearly 16% since the 2016 presidential election.
• Nearly 70% of individuals said that talking about politics on social media with people on the opposite side was often “stressful and frustrating,” compared with 56% in 2016.

Election Interference

Unfortunately, antagonistic state actors have used social media to influence public opinion in the U.S. presidential elections. During the 2016 presidential election, Russia used tactics such as propaganda, troll farms, and bots to leak false news stories and sow disorder.

Companies designed social media platforms to encourage engagement, but while this engagement can help candidates disseminate their messages and reach more voters, it has also been shown to easily enable election misinformation on a global scale.

Navigating Social Media Wisely

As important as it is to keep pressure on companies to monitor and maintain ethical standards for social media platforms, it is crucial to navigate social media wisely as an individual user. People should consider how their social media behavior affects others in their networks and think twice before resharing unverified information.

In Maryville University’s online degree programs , students learn information literacy and practice critical thinking skills, including analyzing and interpreting sources on the web. Maryville is committed to creating a culture of respect and inclusion in person and online, where all students can safely challenge themselves and grow. Discover more about Maryville today.

Forbes, “Meta Will Soon Ban Targeting Ads Based On Sensitive Categories Including Religion And Politics”

The Guardian, “How Beto O’Rourke Became a Texas Sensation Who Could Shape the Future of the Democrats”

Lexington Books, “Communicator-in-Chief: How Barack Obama Used New Media Technology to Win the White House”

Nature, “A 61-Million-Person Experiment in Social Influence and Political Mobilization”

The New York Times, “​​How Parler, a Chosen App of Trump Fans, Became a Test of Free Speech”

OpenSecrets, “Cruz, O’Rourke break spending record”

Pew Research Center, “10 Tech Trends That Shaped the 2010s”

Pew Research Center, “55% of U.S. Social Media Users Say They Are ‘Worn Out’ by Political Posts and Discussions”

Pew Research Center, “The Internet’s Role in Campaign 2008”

Pew Research Center, “Key Findings About Voter Engagement in the 2020 Election”

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “The Echo Chamber Effect on Social Media”

Psychology Today, “How to Get More People to Vote”

USA Today, “Machines on a Mission: How Algorithms Drive Our Political Polarization”

YouGov, “Americans Are Less Likely to Have Friends of Very Different Political Opinions Compared to 2016”

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The Effect of Social Media on Elections: Evidence from the United States

This paper is now forthcoming at the Journal of the European Economic Association.

We study how social media affects election outcomes in the United States. We use variation in the number of Twitter users across counties induced by early adopters at the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a key event in Twitter’s rise to popularity. We show that this variation is unrelated to observable county characteristics and electoral outcomes before the launch of Twitter. Our results indicate that Twitter lowered the Republican vote share in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but had limited effects on Congressional elections and previous presidential elections. Evidence from survey data, primary elections, and a text analysis of millions of tweets suggests that Twitter’s relatively liberal content may have persuaded voters with moderate views to vote against Donald Trump.

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• The Political Environment on Social Media

Some users enjoy the opportunities for political debate and engagement that social media facilitates, but many more express resignation, frustration over the tone and content of social platforms

Table of contents.

• 1. Political content on social media
• 2. The tone of social media discussions around politics
• 3. Social media and political engagement
• Acknowledgments
• Methodology

In a political environment defined by widespread polarization and partisan animosity , even simple conversations can go awry when the subject turns to politics. In their in-person interactions, Americans can (and often do ) attempt to steer clear of those with whom they strongly disagree.

But online social media environments present new challenges. In these spaces, users can encounter statements they might consider highly contentious or extremely offensive – even when they make no effort to actively seek out this material. Similarly, political arguments can encroach into users’ lives when comment streams on otherwise unrelated topics devolve into flame wars or partisan bickering. Navigating these interactions can be particularly fraught in light of the complex mix of close friends, family members, distant acquaintances, professional connections and public figures that make up many users’ online networks.

A new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults finds that political debate and discussion is indeed a regular fact of digital life for many social media users, and some politically active users enjoy the heated discussions and opportunities for engagement that this mix of social media and politics facilitates. But a larger share expresses annoyance and aggravation at the tone and content of the political interactions they witness on these platforms. Among the key findings of this survey:

More than one-third of social media users are worn out by the amount of political content they encounter, and more than half describe their online interactions with those they disagree with politically as stressful and frustrating

The roughly two-thirds of American adults who use social media sites express a relatively wide range of opinions on the political interactions they witness and take part in on these platforms. Many feel overloaded by political content and view their social media interactions with those they disagree with as a source of frustration and annoyance. At the same time, a substantial minority of users enjoy the ability to consume political content and engage in discussions with people on the other side of issues:

• Nearly twice as many social media users say they are “worn out” by the amount of political content they see in their feeds (37%) as say they like seeing lots of political information (20%). Still, about four-in-ten (41%) indicate that they don’t feel particularly strongly one way or the other about the amount of political content they encounter on social media.
• 59% say their social media interactions with those with opposing political views are stressful and frustrating – although 35% find them interesting and informative.
• 64% say their online encounters with people on the opposite side of the political spectrum leave them feeling as if they have even less in common than they thought – although 29% say they end these discussions feeling that they have more in common than they might have anticipated.

Many users view the tone of political discussions on social media as uniquely angry and disrespectful – although a sizeable share feels that these discussions simply reflect the broader political climate

When asked how they view the tone of the political discussions they see on social media, a substantial share of social media users feel these platforms are uniquely angry and disrespectful venues for engaging in political debate. Some 40% of users agree strongly with the notion that social media are places where people say things while discussing politics that they would never say in person (an additional 44% feel that this statement describes social media somewhat well).

Meanwhile, roughly half of users feel the political conversations they see on social media are angrier (49%), less respectful (53%) and less civil (49%) than those in other areas of life. At the same time, a notable minority feels that the political discussions they see on social media are largely reflective of the political discussions they witness in other areas of their lives: For instance, 39% of users feel that these interactions are no more less respectful than other political interactions they encounter. And a small share finds political debates on social media to be more civil (7%), more informative (14%) and more focused on important policy issues (10%) than those they see elsewhere.

Most users try to ignore political arguments on social media as best they can; when that fails, they take steps to curate their feeds and avoid the most offensive types of content

For the most part, social media users try to refrain from engaging with the political arguments that enter their feeds: 83% of them say that when their friends post something about politics that they disagree with they usually just try to ignore it, while 15% usually respond to these posts with a post or comment of their own.

When ignoring problematic content fails, social media users tend to utilize technological tools to remove troublesome users from their feeds entirely. Nearly one-third of social media users (31%) say they have changed their settings in order to see fewer posts from someone in their feed because of something related to politics, while 27% have blocked or unfriended someone for that reason. Taken together, this amounts to 39% of social media users – and 60% of them indicate that they took this step because someone was posting political content that they found offensive.

Despite these annoyances, some users – especially those with high levels of political engagement – enjoy talking, debating and posting about political issues on social media

Yet for all of the tensions and annoyances that accompany political debates on social media, some users do see a good side to these interactions. This is especially true of those Americans who indicate a high level of interest and involvement in the political process more broadly.

These highly engaged social media users express many of the same frustrations about the tone and tenor of political discussions on social media – but many of them simultaneously view social media platforms as valuable tools for political action and discussion. Roughly one-in-five politically engaged users (19%) indicate that they often comment, discuss or post about political issues with others on social media (just 6% of less politically engaged users post with this level of frequency). And nearly one-third of these politically engaged users feel that social media sites do “very well” at bringing new voices into the political discussion (31%) or helping people get involved with issues that matter to them (30%).

Frustration over politically oriented social media discussions is a bipartisan phenomenon

Even as their overall political attitudes differ dramatically, Democrats and Republicans (including independents and other nonpartisans who “lean” toward either party) tend to view and utilize social media in largely comparable ways. For instance, they are equally likely to say that they comment, post about or engage in political discussions on social media (10% of Republican users and 8% of Democrats do so often). And a nearly identical share from each party feels worn out by the amount of political material they encounter on social media (38% of Democrats and 37% of Republicans who use social media report this) or feel that the conversations they see on social media are angrier and less civil than in other venues where these conversations occur. However, Democrats who use social media are somewhat more likely to view these sites as useful vehicles for bringing new voices into the political arena.

Political content is as prevalent on Facebook (where users mostly follow people they know personally) as it is on Twitter (where users tend to follow a wider mix of connections)

The concerns and frustrations outlined above are occurring in a broader context: namely, one in which political discussions are encroaching into a range of different social spaces. Two of the more common social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter – are illustrative in this regard. Facebook users tend to be friends primarily with people they know personally (66% of Facebook users say they mostly follow people they already know), while Twitter users are much more likely to follow people they do not know personally (48% of Twitter users indicate that most of the people they follow are in this category). And a large share of Facebook and Twitter users report that they follow a relatively broad mix of people with differing political views and opinions (indeed, just 23% of Facebook users and 17% of Twitter users say that they mostly follow people with political views that are similar to theirs). But despite these differences in the social and political composition of their networks, an identical share of Facebook users and Twitter users report that they frequently encounter political posts and engage in political discussions among the people in their networks.

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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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Likes, Shares, and Beyond: Exploring the Impact of Social Media in Essays

Table of contents

• 1 Definition and Explanation of a Social Media Essay
• 2.1 Topics for an Essay on Social Media and Mental Health
• 2.2 Social Dynamics
• 2.3 Social Media Essay Topics about Business
• 2.4 Politics
• 3 Research and Analysis
• 4 Structure Social Media Essay
• 5 Tips for Writing Essays on Social Media
• 6 Examples of Social Media Essays
• 7 Navigating the Social Media Labyrinth: Key Insights

In the world of digital discourse, our article stands as a beacon for those embarking on the intellectual journey of writing about social media. It is a comprehensive guide for anyone venturing into the dynamic world of social media essays. Offering various topics about social media and practical advice on selecting engaging subjects, the piece delves into research methodologies, emphasizing the importance of credible sources and trend analysis. Furthermore, it provides invaluable tips on structuring essays, including crafting compelling thesis statements and hooks balancing factual information with personal insights. Concluding with examples of exemplary essays, this article is an essential tool for students and researchers alike, aiding in navigating the intricate landscape of its impact on society.

Definition and Explanation of a Social Media Essay

Essentially, when one asks “What is a social media essay?” they are referring to an essay that analyzes, critiques, or discusses its various dimensions and effects. These essays can range from the psychological implications of its use to its influence on politics, business strategies, and social dynamics.

A social media essay is an academic or informational piece that explores various aspects of social networking platforms and their impact on individuals and society.

In crafting such an essay, writers blend personal experiences, analytical perspectives, and empirical data to paint a full picture of social media’s role. For instance, a social media essay example could examine how these platforms mold public opinion, revolutionize digital marketing strategies, or raise questions about data privacy ethics. Through a mix of thorough research, critical analysis, and personal reflections, these essays provide a layered understanding of one of today’s most pivotal digital phenomena.

Great Social Media Essay Topics

When it comes to selecting a topic for your essay, consider its current relevance, societal impact, and personal interest. Whether exploring the effects on business, politics, mental health, or social dynamics, these social media essay titles offer a range of fascinating social media topic ideas. Each title encourages an exploration of the intricate relationship between social media and our daily lives. A well-chosen topic should enable you to investigate the impact of social media, debate ethical dilemmas, and offer unique insights. Striking the right balance in scope, these topics should align with the objectives of your essays, ensuring an informative and captivating read.

Topics for an Essay on Social Media and Mental Health

• The Impact of Social Media on Self-Esteem.
• Unpacking Social Media Addiction: Causes, Effects, and Solutions.
• Analyzing Social Media’s Role as a Catalyst for Teen Depression and Anxiety.
• Social Media and Mental Health Awareness: A Force for Good?
• The Psychological Impacts of Cyberbullying in the Social Media Age.
• The Effects of Social Media on Sleep and Mental Health.
• Strategies for Positive Mental Health in the Era of Social Media.
• Real-Life vs. Social Media Interactions: An Essay on Mental Health Aspects.
• The Mental Well-Being Benefits of a Social Media Detox.
• Social Comparison Psychology in the Realm of Social Media.

Social Dynamics

• Social Media and its Impact on Interpersonal Communication Skills: A Cause and Effect Essay on Social Media.
• Cultural Integration through Social Media: A New Frontier.
• Interpersonal Communication in the Social Media Era: Evolving Skills and Challenges.
• Community Building and Social Activism: The Role of Social Media.
• Youth Culture and Behavior: The Influence of Social Media.
• Privacy and Personal Boundaries: Navigating Social Media Challenges.
• Language Evolution in Social Media: A Dynamic Shift.
• Leveraging Social Media for Social Change and Awareness.
• Family Dynamics in the Social Media Landscape.
• Friendship in the Age of Social Media: An Evolving Concept.

Social Media Essay Topics about Business

• Influencer Marketing on Social Media: Impact and Ethics.
• Brand Building and Customer Engagement: The Power of Social Media.
• The Ethics and Impact of Influencer Marketing in Social Media.
• Measuring Business Success Through Social Media Analytics.
• The Changing Face of Advertising in the Social Media World.
• Revolutionizing Customer Service in the Social Media Era.
• Market Research and Consumer Insights: The Social Media Advantage.
• Small Businesses and Startups: The Impact of Social Media.
• Ethical Dimensions of Social Media Advertising.
• Consumer Behavior and Social Media: An Intricate Relationship.
• The Role of Social Media in Government Transparency and Accountability
• Social Media’s Impact on Political Discourse and Public Opinion.
• Combating Fake News on Social Media: Implications for Democracy.
• Political Mobilization and Activism: The Power of Social Media.
• Social Media: A New Arena for Political Debates and Discussions.
• Government Transparency and Accountability in the Social Media Age.
• Voter Behavior and Election Outcomes: The Social Media Effect.
• Political Polarization: A Social Media Perspective.
• Tackling Political Misinformation on Social Media Platforms.
• The Ethics of Political Advertising in the Social Media Landscape.
• Memes as a Marketing Tool: Successes, Failures, and Pros of Social Media.
• Shaping Public Opinion with Memes: A Social Media Phenomenon.
• Political Satire and Social Commentary through Memes.
• The Psychology Behind Memes: Understanding Their Viral Nature.
• The Influence of Memes on Language and Communication.
• Tracing the History and Evolution of Internet Memes.
• Memes in Online Communities: Culture and Subculture Formation.
• Navigating Copyright and Legal Issues in the World of Memes.
• Memes as a Marketing Strategy: Analyzing Successes and Failures.
• Memes and Global Cultural Exchange: A Social Media Perspective.

Research and Analysis

In today’s fast-paced information era, the ability to sift through vast amounts of data and pinpoint reliable information is more crucial than ever. Research and analysis in the digital age hinge on identifying credible sources and understanding the dynamic landscape. Initiating your research with reputable websites is key. Academic journals, government publications, and established news outlets are gold standards for reliable information. Online databases and libraries provide a wealth of peer-reviewed articles and books. For websites, prioritize those with domains like .edu, .gov, or .org, but always critically assess the content for bias and accuracy. Turning to social media, it’s a trove of real-time data and trends but requires a discerning approach. Focus on verified accounts and official pages of recognized entities.

Analyzing current trends and user behavior is crucial for staying relevant. Platforms like Google Trends, Twitter Analytics, and Facebook Insights offer insights into what’s resonating with audiences. These tools help identify trending topics, hashtags, and the type of content that engages users. Remember, it reflects and influences public opinion and behavior. Observing user interactions, comments, and shares can provide a deeper understanding of consumer attitudes and preferences. This analysis is invaluable for tailoring content, developing marketing strategies, and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Structure Social Media Essay

In constructing a well-rounded structure for a social media essay, it’s crucial to begin with a strong thesis statement. This sets the foundation for essays about social media and guides the narrative.

Thesis Statements

A thesis statement is the backbone of your essay, outlining the main argument or position you will explore throughout the text. It guides the narrative, providing a clear direction for your essay and helping readers understand the focus of your analysis or argumentation. Here are some thesis statements:

• “Social media has reshaped communication, fostering a connected world through instant information sharing, yet it has come at the cost of privacy and genuine social interaction.”
• “While social media platforms act as potent instruments for societal and political transformation, they present significant challenges to mental health and the authenticity of information.”
• “The role of social media in contemporary business transcends mere marketing; it impacts customer relationships, shapes brand perception, and influences operational strategies.”

Social Media Essay Hooks

Social media essay hooks are pivotal in grabbing the reader’s attention right from the beginning and compelling them to continue reading. A well-crafted hook acts as the engaging entry point to your essay, setting the tone and framing the context for the discussion that will follow.

Here are some effective social media essay hooks:

• “In a world where a day without social media is unimaginable, its pervasive presence is both a testament to its utility and a source of various societal issues.”
• “Each scroll, like, and share on social media platforms carries the weight of influencing public opinion and shaping global conversations.”
• “Social media has become so ingrained in our daily lives that its absence would render the modern world unrecognizable.”

Introduction:

Navigating the digital landscape, an introduction for a social media essay serves as a map, charting the terrain of these platforms’ broad influence across various life aspects. This section should briefly summarize the scope of the essay, outlining both the benefits and the drawbacks, and segue into the thesis statement.

When we move to the body part of the essay, it offers an opportunity for an in-depth exploration and discussion. It can be structured first to examine the positive aspects of social media, including improved communication channels, innovative marketing strategies, and the facilitation of social movements. Following this, the essay should address the negative implications, such as issues surrounding privacy, the impact on mental health, and the proliferation of misinformation. Incorporating real-world examples, statistical evidence, and expert opinions throughout the essay will provide substantial support for the arguments presented.

Conclusion:

It is the summit of the essay’s exploration, offering a moment to look back on the terrain covered. The conclusion should restate the thesis in light of the discussions presented in the body. It should summarize the key points made, reflecting on the multifaceted influence of social media in contemporary society. The essay should end with a thought-provoking statement or question about the future role of social media, tying back to the initial hooks and ensuring a comprehensive and engaging end to the discourse.

Tips for Writing Essays on Social Media

In the ever-evolving realm of digital dialogue, mastering the art of essay writing on social media is akin to navigating a complex web of virtual interactions and influences. Writing an essay on social media requires a blend of analytical insight, factual accuracy, and a nuanced understanding of the digital landscape. Here are some tips to craft a compelling essay:

• Incorporate Statistical Data and Case Studies

Integrate statistical data and relevant case studies to lend credibility to your arguments. For instance, usage statistics, growth trends, and demographic information can provide a solid foundation for your points. Case studies, especially those highlighting its impact on businesses, politics, or societal change, offer concrete examples that illustrate your arguments. Ensure your sources are current and reputable to maintain the essay’s integrity.

• Balance Personal Insights with Factual Information

While personal insights can add a unique perspective to your essay, balancing them with factual information is crucial. Personal observations and experiences can make your essay relatable and engaging, but grounding these insights in factual data ensures credibility and helps avoid bias.

• Respect Privacy

When discussing real-world examples or case studies, especially those involving individuals or specific organizations, be mindful of privacy concerns. Avoid sharing sensitive information, and always respect the confidentiality of your sources.

• Maintain an Objective Tone

It is a polarizing topic, but maintaining an objective tone in your essay is essential. Avoid emotional language and ensure that your arguments are supported by evidence. An objective approach allows readers to form opinions based on the information presented.

• Use Jargon Wisely

While using social media-specific terminology can make your essay relevant and informed, it’s important to use jargon judiciously. Avoid overuse and ensure that terms are clearly defined for readers who might not be familiar with their lingo.

Examples of Social Media Essays

Title: The Dichotomy of Social Media: A Tool for Connection and a Platform for Division

Introduction

In the digital era, social media has emerged as a paradoxical entity. It serves as a bridge connecting distant corners of the world and a battleground for conflicting ideologies. This essay explores this dichotomy, utilizing statistical data, case studies, and real-world examples to understand its multifaceted impact on society.

Section 1 – Connection Through Social Media:

Social media’s primary allure lies in its ability to connect. A report by the Pew Research Center shows that 72% of American adults use some form of social media, where interactions transcend geographical and cultural barriers. This statistic highlights the platform’s popularity and role in fostering global connections. An exemplary case study of this is the #MeToo movement. Originating as a hashtag on Twitter, it grew into a global campaign against sexual harassment, demonstrating its power to mobilize and unify people for a cause.

However, personal insights suggest that while it bridges distances, it can also create a sense of isolation. Users often report feeling disconnected from their immediate surroundings, hinting at the platform’s double-edged nature. Despite enabling connections on a global scale, social media can paradoxically alienate individuals from their local context.

Section 2 – The Platform for Division

Conversely, social media can amplify societal divisions. Its algorithm-driven content can create echo chambers, reinforcing users’ preexisting beliefs. A study by the Knight Foundation found that it tends to polarize users, especially in political contexts, leading to increased division. This is further exacerbated by the spread of misinformation, as seen in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election case, where it was used to disseminate false information, influencing public opinion and deepening societal divides.

Respecting privacy and maintaining an objective tone, it is crucial to acknowledge that social media is not divisive. Its influence is determined by both its usage and content. Thus, it is the obligation of both platforms to govern content and consumers to access information.

In conclusion, it is a complex tool. It has the unparalleled ability to connect individuals worldwide while possessing the power to divide. Balancing the personal insights with factual information presented, it’s clear that its influence is a reflection of how society chooses to wield it. As digital citizens, it is imperative to use it judiciously, understanding its potential to unite and divide.

Delving into the intricacies of social media’s impact necessitates not just a keen eye for detail but an analytical mindset to dissect its multifaceted layers. Analysis is paramount because it allows us to navigate through the vast sea of information, distinguishing between mere opinion and well-supported argumentation.

This essay utilizes tips for writing a social media essay. Statistical data from the Pew Research Center and the Knight Foundation lend credibility to the arguments. The use of the #MeToo movement as a case study illustrates its positive impact, while the reference to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election demonstrates its negative aspects. The essay balances personal insights with factual information, respects privacy, maintains an objective tone, and appropriately uses jargon. The structure is clear and logical, with distinct sections for each aspect of its impact, making it an informative and well-rounded analysis of its role in modern society.

Navigating the Social Media Labyrinth: Key Insights

In the digital age, the impact of social media on various aspects of human life has become a critical area of study. This article has provided a comprehensive guide for crafting insightful and impactful essays on this subject, blending personal experiences with analytical rigor. Through a detailed examination of topics ranging from mental health and social dynamics to business and politics, it has underscored the dual nature of social media as both a unifying and divisive force. The inclusion of statistical data and case studies has enriched the discussion, offering a grounded perspective on the nuanced effects of these platforms.

The tips and structures outlined serve as a valuable framework for writers to navigate the complex interplay between social media and societal shifts. As we conclude, it’s clear that understanding social media’s role requires a delicate balance of critical analysis and open-mindedness. Reflecting on its influence, this article guides the creation of thoughtful essays and encourages readers to ponder the future of digital interactions and their implications for the fabric of society.

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A business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

The Impact of Social Media: Is it Irreplaceable?

July 26, 2019 • 15 min read.

Social media as we know it has barely reached its 20th birthday, but it’s changed the fabric of everyday life. What does the future hold for the sector and the players currently at the top?

• Public Policy

In little more than a decade, the impact of social media has gone from being an entertaining extra to a fully integrated part of nearly every aspect of daily life for many.

Recently in the realm of commerce, Facebook faced skepticism in its testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Libra, its proposed cryptocurrency and alternative financial system . In politics, heartthrob Justin Bieber tweeted the President of the United States, imploring him to “let those kids out of cages.” In law enforcement, the Philadelphia police department moved to terminate more than a dozen police officers after their racist comments on social media were revealed.

And in the ultimate meshing of the digital and physical worlds, Elon Musk raised the specter of essentially removing the space between social and media through the invention — at some future time — of a brain implant that connects human tissue to computer chips.

All this, in the span of about a week.

As quickly as social media has insinuated itself into politics, the workplace, home life, and elsewhere, it continues to evolve at lightning speed, making it tricky to predict which way it will morph next. It’s hard to recall now, but SixDegrees.com, Friendster, and Makeoutclub.com were each once the next big thing, while one survivor has continued to grow in astonishing ways. In 2006, Facebook had 7.3 million registered users and reportedly turned down a $750 million buyout offer. In the first quarter of 2019, the company could claim 2.38 billion active users, with a market capitalization hovering around half a trillion dollars.

“In 2007 I argued that Facebook might not be around in 15 years. I’m clearly wrong, but it is interesting to see how things have changed,” says Jonah Berger, Wharton marketing professor and author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On . The challenge going forward is not just having the best features, but staying relevant, he says. “Social media isn’t a utility. It’s not like power or water where all people care about is whether it works. Young people care about what using one platform or another says about them. It’s not cool to use the same site as your parents and grandparents, so they’re always looking for the hot new thing.”

Just a dozen years ago, everyone was talking about a different set of social networking services, “and I don’t think anyone quite expected Facebook to become so huge and so dominant,” says Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics. “At that point, this was an interesting discussion about tech start-ups.

“Today, Facebook is one of the most valuable companies on earth and front and center in a whole range of public policy debates, so the scope of issues we’re thinking about with social media are broader than then,” Werbach adds.

Cambridge Analytica , the impact of social media on the last presidential election and other issues may have eroded public trust, Werbach said, but “social media has become really fundamental to the way that billions of people get information about the world and connect with each other, which raises the stakes enormously.”

Just Say No

“Facebook is dangerous,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) at July’s hearing of the Senate Banking Committee. “Facebook has said, ‘just trust us.’ And every time Americans trust you, they seem to get burned.”

Social media has plenty of detractors, but by and large, do Americans agree with Brown’s sentiment? In 2018, 42% of those surveyed in a Pew Research Center survey said they had taken a break from checking the platform for a period of several weeks or more, while 26% said they had deleted the Facebook app from their cellphone.

A year later, though, despite the reputational beating social media had taken, the 2019 iteration of the same Pew survey found social media use unchanged from 2018.

Facebook has its critics, says Wharton marketing professor Pinar Yildirim, and they are mainly concerned about two things: mishandling consumer data and poorly managing access to it by third-party providers; and the level of disinformation spreading on Facebook.

“Social media isn’t a utility. It’s not like power or water where all people care about is whether it works. Young people care about what using one platform or another says about them.” –Jonah Berger

“The question is, are we at a point where the social media organizations and their activities should be regulated for the benefit of the consumer? I do not think more regulation will necessarily help, but certainly this is what is on the table,” says Yildirim. “In the period leading to the [2020 U.S. presidential] elections, we will hear a range of discussions about regulation on the tech industry.”

Some proposals relate to stricter regulation on collection and use of consumer data, Yildirim adds, noting that the European Union already moved to stricter regulations last year by adopting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) . “A number of companies in the U.S. and around the world adopted the GDPR protocol for all of their customers, not just for the residents of EU,” she says. “We will likely hear more discussions on regulation of such data, and we will likely see stricter regulation of this data.”

The other discussion bound to intensify is around the separation of Big Tech into smaller, easier to regulate units. “Most of us academics do not think that dividing organizations into smaller units is sufficient to improve their compliance with regulation. It also does not necessarily mean they will be less competitive,” says Yildirim. “For instance, in the discussion of Facebook, it is not even clear yet how breaking up the company would work, given that it does not have very clear boundaries between different business units.”

Even if such regulations never come to pass, the discussions “may nevertheless hurt Big Tech financially, given that most companies are publicly traded and it adds to the uncertainty,” Yildirim notes.

One prominent commentator about the negative impact of social media is Jaron Lanier, whose fervent opposition makes itself apparent in the plainspoken title of his 2018 book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now . He cites loss of free will, social media’s erosion of the truth and destruction of empathy, its tendency to make people unhappy, and the way in which it is “making politics impossible.” The title of the last chapter: “Social Media Hates Your Soul.”

Lanier is no tech troglodyte. A polymath who bridges the digital and analog realms, he is a musician and writer, has worked as a scientist for Microsoft, and was co-founder of pioneering virtual reality company VPL Research. The nastiness that online existence brings out in users “turned out to be like crude oil for the social media companies and other behavior manipulation empires that quickly came to dominate the internet, because it fuelled negative behavioral feedback,” he writes.

“Social media has become really fundamental to the way that billions of people get information about the world and connect with each other, which raises the stakes enormously.” –Kevin Werbach

Worse, there is an addictive quality to social media, and that is a big issue, says Berger. “Social media is like a drug, but what makes it particularly addictive is that it is adaptive. It adjusts based on your preferences and behaviors,” he says, “which makes it both more useful and engaging and interesting, and more addictive.”

The effect of that drug on mental health is only beginning to be examined, but a recent University of Pennsylvania study makes the case that limiting use of social media can be a good thing. Researchers looked at a group of 143 Penn undergraduates, using baseline monitoring and randomly assigning each to either a group limiting Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat use to 10 minutes per platform per day, or to one told to use social media as usual for three weeks. The results, published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology , showed significant reductions in loneliness and depression over three weeks in the group limiting use compared to the control group.

However, “both groups showed significant decreases in anxiety and fear of missing out over baseline, suggesting a benefit of increased self-monitoring,” wrote the authors of “ No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression .”

Monetizing a League (and a Reality) All Their Own

No one, though, is predicting that social media is a fad that will pass like its analog antecedent of the 1970s, citizens band radio. It will, however, evolve. The idea of social media as just a way to reconnect with high school friends seems quaint now. The impact of social media today is a big tent, including not only networks like Facebook, but also forums like Reddit and video-sharing platforms.

“The question is, are we at a point where the social media organizations and their activities should be regulated for the benefit of the consumer?” –Pinar Yildirim

Virtual worlds and gaming have become a major part of the sector, too. Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader says gamers are creating their own user-generated content through virtual worlds — and the revenue to go with it. He points to one group of gamers that use Grand Theft Auto as a kind of stage or departure point “to have their own virtual show.” In NoPixel, the Grand Theft Auto roleplaying server, “not much really happens and millions are tuning in to watch them. Just watching, not even participating, and it’s either live-streamed or recorded. And people are making donations to support this thing. The gamers are making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Now imagine having a 30-person reality show all filmed live and you can take the perspective of one person and then watch it again from another person’s perspective,” he continues. “Along the way, they can have a tip jar or talk about things they endorse. That kind of immersive media starts to build the bridge to what we like to get out of TV, but even better. Those things are on the periphery right now, but I think they are going to take over.”

Big players have noticed the potential of virtual sports and are getting into the act. In a striking example of the physical world imitating the digital one, media companies are putting up real-life stadiums where teams compete in video games. Comcast Spectator in March announced that it is building a new $50 million stadium in South Philadelphia that will be the home of the Philadelphia Fusion, the city’s e-sports team in the Overwatch League.

E-sports is serious business, with revenues globally — including advertising, sponsorships, and media rights — expected to reach $1.1 billion in 2019, according to gaming industry analytics company Newzoo.

“E-sports is absolutely here to stay,” says Fader, “and I think it’s a safe bet to say that e-sports will dominate most traditional sports, managing far more revenue and having more impact on our consciousness than baseball.”

It’s no surprise, then, that Facebook has begun making deals to carry e-sports content. In fact, it is diversification like this that may keep Facebook from ending up like its failed upstart peers. One thing that Facebook has managed to do that MySpace, Friendster, and others didn’t, is “a very good job of creating functional integration with the value they are delivering, as opposed to being a place to just share photos or send messages, it serves a lot of diversified functions,” says Keith E. Niedermeier, director of Wharton’s undergraduate marketing program and an adjunct professor of marketing. “They are creating groups and group connections, but you see them moving into lots of other services like streaming entertainment, mobile payments, and customer-to-customer buying and selling.”

“[WeChat] has really instantiated itself as a day-to-day tool in China, and it’s clear to me that Facebook would like to emulate that sort of thing.” –Keith Niedermeier

In China, WeChat has become the biggest mobile payment platform in the world and it is the platform for many third-party apps for things like bike sharing and ordering airplane tickets. “It has really instantiated itself as a day-to-day tool in China, and it’s clear to me that Facebook would like to emulate that sort of thing,” says Niedermeier.

Among nascent social media platforms that are particularly promising right now, Yildirim says that “social media platforms which are directed at achieving some objectives with smaller scale and more homogenous people stand a higher chance of entering the market and being able to compete with large, general-purpose platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.”

Irreplaceable – and Damaging?

Of course, many have begun to believe that the biggest challenge around the impact of social media may be the way it is changing society. The “attention-grabbing algorithms underlying social media … propel authoritarian practices that aim to sow confusion, ignorance, prejudice, and chaos, thereby facilitating manipulation and undermining accountability,” writes University of Toronto political science professor Ronald Deibert in a January essay in the Journal of Democracy .

Berger notes that any piece of information can now get attention, whether it is true or false. This means more potential for movements both welcome as well as malevolent. “Before, only media companies had reach, so it was harder for false information to spread. It could happen, but it was slow. Now anyone can share anything, and because people tend to believe what they see, false information can spread just as, if not more easily, than the truth.

“It’s certainly allowed more things to bubble up rather than flow from the top down,” says Berger. Absent gatekeepers, “everyone is their own media company, broadcasting to the particular set of people that follow them. It used to be that a major label signing you was the path to stardom. Now artists can build their own following online and break through that way. Social media has certainly made fame and attention more democratic, though not always in a good way.”

Deibert writes that “in a short period of time, digital technologies have become pervasive and deeply embedded in all that we do. Unwinding them completely is neither possible nor desirable.”

His cri de coeur argues: that citizens have the right to know what companies and governments are doing with their personal data, and that this right be extended internationally to hold autocratic regimes to account; that companies be barred from selling products and services that enable infringements on human rights and harms to civil society; for the creation of independent agencies with real power to hold social-media platforms to account; and the creation and enforcement of strong antitrust laws to end dominance of a very few social-media companies.

“Social media has certainly made fame and attention more democratic, though not always in a good way.” –Jonah Berger

The rising tide of concern is now extending across sectors. The U.S. Justice Department has recently begun an anti-trust investigation into how tech companies operate in social media, search, and retail services. In July, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced the award of nearly $50 million in new funding to 11 U.S. universities to research how technology is transforming democracy. The foundation is also soliciting additional grant proposals to fund policy and legal research into the “rules, norms, and governance” that should be applied to social media and technology companies.

Given all of the reasons not to engage with social media — the privacy issues, the slippery-slope addiction aspect of it, its role in spreading incivility — do we want to try to put the genie back in the bottle? Can we? Does social media definitely have a future?

“Yes, surely it does,” says Yildirim. “Social connections are fabrics of society. Just as the telegraph or telephone as an innovation of communication did not reduce social connectivity, online social networks did not either. If anything, it likely increased connectivity, or reduced the cost of communicating with others.”

It is thanks to online social networks that individuals likely have larger social networks, she says, and while many criticize the fact that we are in touch with large numbers of individuals in a superficial way, these light connections may nevertheless be contributing to our lives when it comes to economic and social outcomes — ranging from finding jobs to meeting new people.

“We are used to being in contact with more individuals, and it is easier to remain in contact with people we only met once. Giving up on this does not seem likely for humans,” she says. “The technology with which we keep in touch may change, may evolve, but we will have social connections and platforms which enable them. Facebook may be gone in 10 years, but there will be something else.”

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‘We Want You To Be A Proud Boy’ How Social Media Facilitates Political Intimidation and Violence

September 2024

With a volatile election approaching, our new report reviews hundreds of social science studies on the question of the role social media plays in facilitating political intimidation and violence.

Our main finding is that the research consistently shows that social media is exploited to facilitate political intimidation and violence. What’s more, certain features of social media platforms make them particularly susceptible to such exploitation, and some of those features can be changed to reduce the danger. 

The report includes a series of recommendations for addressing harms exacerbated by social media.

For industry:

• Sound the alarm.  To reduce risks, social media companies first need to end their tendency to deflect and obfuscate and instead acknowledge the role that their platforms play in facilitating political intimidation and violence. Bold public statements recognizing the phenomenon and accepting partial responsibility are the necessary precursor to meaningful action. 
• Put more people on the content moderation beat.  In 2022 and 2023, most major social media companies  laid off “trust and safety” employees  — the people who devise and enforce policies aimed at reducing online hatred and incitement. This ill-advised retreat must be reversed. AI can handle a lot of content moderation, but human judgment is crucial, and more humans, especially counter-extremism experts, are needed. 
• Make design changes to mitigate harm.  Rather than allow user anonymity, social media companies should require users to verify their identity (with provisions for storing verification data securely and/or erasing it once it’s no longer needed). Platforms should monitor groups for the prevalence of content advocating violence, regardless of partisan orientation. Invitations to, and recommendations of, volatile groups should be shut down, as should be the groups themselves if they become dangerous. More broadly, recommendation systems should be redesigned to reduce, rather than heighten, sectarianism. Sheer user engagement, which may reflect hateful and other sensationalistic posts, can be reduced as a criterion for amplification.

For government: 

• Enforce existing laws.  With healthy respect for free speech protected by the First Amendment, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security need to be vigilant about enforcing criminal laws banning political intimidation and the incitement of violence. The Federal Trade Commission, Federal Election Commission, and their state counterparts also must use their full authority to enforce existing laws against election fraud, voter suppression, and cyberattacks.
• Protect election workers.  These mostly career employees typically live and work without the benefit of the sort of protections provided to judges, lawmakers, and executive branch officials. To arrest the continued exodus of election workers, governments should raise the stakes for those who seek to intimidate these public servants by hardening existing penalties and introducing new ones that take into account the coordinated disinformation campaigns that lie behind the harassment.
• Enhance federal authority to oversee digital industries.  Longer term, the federal government needs to regulate digital industries in a more systematic fashion. Specifically, Congress should expand the consumer protection authority of the Federal Trade Commission to accomplish sustained oversight of digital industries. This approach would require additional funding and recruitment of technically adept personnel.

Digital Risks to the 2024 Elections: Safeguarding Democracy in the Era of Disinformation

A new report by Paul M. Barrett, Justin Hendrix and Cecely Richard-Carvajal highlights that this year's primary tech-related threat to elections isn't AI-generated content, but the spread of false, hateful, and violent content on social media platforms.

NetChoice Amicus Brief

In this brief, the Center urged the Supreme Court not to grant the social media industry full immunity from regulation, while also arguing that content moderation laws in Florida and Texas violate the First Amendment.

Reality Check: How to Protect Human Rights in the 3D Immersive Web

Our report written by Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat explains the risks to privacy and safety exacerbated by immersive technologies and recommends steps tech companies and the government can take to minimize those risks.

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The Effect of Social Media on Elections: Evidence from the United States

This paper is now forthcoming at the Journal of the European Economic Association.

We study how social media affects election outcomes in the United States. We use variation in the number of Twitter users across counties induced by early adopters at the 2007 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a key event in Twitter’s rise to popularity. We show that this variation is unrelated to observable county characteristics and electoral outcomes before the launch of Twitter. Our results indicate that Twitter lowered the Republican vote share in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but had limited effects on Congressional elections and previous presidential elections. Evidence from survey data, primary elections, and a text analysis of millions of tweets suggests that Twitter’s relatively liberal content may have persuaded voters with moderate views to vote against Donald Trump.

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Guest Essay

Surgeon General: Parents Are at Their Wits’ End. We Can Do Better.

By Vivek H. Murthy

Dr. Murthy is the surgeon general.

One day when my daughter was a year old, she stopped moving her right leg. Tests found that she had a deep infection in her thigh that was dangerously close to her bone. She was rushed off to surgery. Thankfully, she’s now a healthy, spirited young girl, but the excruciating days we spent in the hospital were some of the hardest of my life. My wife, Alice, and I felt helpless and heartbroken. We got through it because of excellent medical care, understanding workplaces and loved ones who showed up and reminded us that we were not alone.

When I became a parent, a friend told me I was signing up for a lifetime of joy and worry. The joys are indeed abundant, but as fulfilling as parenting has been, the truth is it has also been more stressful than any job I’ve had. I’ve had many moments of feeling lost and exhausted. So many parents I encounter as I travel across America tell me they have the same experience: They feel lucky to be raising kids, but they are struggling, often in silence and alone.

The stress and mental health challenges faced by parents — just like loneliness , workplace well-being and the impact of social media on youth mental health — aren’t always visible, but they can take a steep toll. It’s time to recognize they constitute a serious public health concern for our country. Parents who feel pushed to the brink deserve more than platitudes. They need tangible support. That’s why I am issuing a surgeon general’s advisory to call attention to the stress and mental health concerns facing parents and caregivers and to lay out what we can do to address them.

A recent study by the American Psychological Association revealed that 48 percent of parents say most days their stress is completely overwhelming, compared with 26 percent of other adults who reported the same. They are navigating traditional hardships of parenting — worrying about money and safety, struggling to get enough sleep — as well as new stressors, including omnipresent screens, a youth mental health crisis and widespread fear about the future.

Stress is tougher to manage when you feel you’re on your own, which is why it’s particularly concerning that so many parents, single parents most of all, report feeling lonelier than other adults . Additionally, parents are stretched for time. Compared with just a few decades ago, mothers and fathers spend more time working and more time caring for their children , leaving them less time for rest, leisure and relationships. Stress, loneliness and exhaustion can easily affect people’s mental health and well-being. And we know that the mental health of parents has a direct impact on the mental health of children.

All of this is compounded by an intensifying culture of comparison, often amplified online, that promotes unrealistic expectations of what parents must do. Chasing these expectations while trying to wade through an endless stream of parenting advice has left many families feeling exhausted, burned out and perpetually behind.

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