How Harmful Is Social Media?

https://doi.org/10.46468/rsaap.14.2.A1

Of course, groups have their downsides. Facebook’s groups product has regularly come in for criticism for hosting extremism and misinformation, particularly related to vaccines. The same thing that can make groups fun to use — the posts are less visible to outsiders, and can therefore build a sense of shared purpose — also makes them harder to poli... See more

The phenomenon is known as false polarization : polarization based not on genuine differences in the modal views of each side but on misperceived differences. According to Parker and colleagues, false polarization is amplified by partisan media, and has various harmful knock-on effects - effects potentially damaging to the democratic process.

As the Internet became an always-on, mainstream phenomenon, however, it also reverted to the mean. Influencer culture happens at scale. It’s not about finding the bizarre nooks and crannies of weird, but reaching as many people as possible. Hit counts and numbers of followers are all that matter. It is about getting bigger, rather than smaller. Rea... See more