Throughout the chaotic years of COVID-19 and leading up to the presidential election, social media platforms have played an important role in raising awareness about voting issues and allowing users to engage in online activism and campaigning. For example, 23% of users in the U.S. say social media led them to change views on Black Lives Matter.
“Reading articles on the BLM movement has opened my eyes to the degree of systemic racism in this country and the world.” –Woman, 64
“I used to support BLM, but now I see them as violent domestic terrorists not interested in addressing the real problems within the Black community. BLM is about a communist revolution not about helping the Black community…” –Man, 50
How do these contrary quotes affect change?
The majority of Americans say social media activity highlights important issues that may not get a lot of attention otherwise as well as it also distracts people from issues that are truly important. Interestingly, social media users who identify as Democrats are slightly more likely than Republicans to say they have changed their views on an issue because of something they saw on these platforms.
On the positive side, social media engages with like-minded people, a phenomenon called homophily. For example, if a celebrity tweets in support of #BlackOutTuesday, fans and other celebrities are more likely to retweet because of social connections. This spirals into a large-scale online movement that is seen everywhere.
I believe there needs to be extremist views and ideas in order to promote change. Social media activism can create an inclusive space for anyone who wants their voices to be heard.
The Downsides
If a social media platform bans or takes down your comments or posts, it does not violate the First Amendment. This is a major issue because it leads to censored news on platforms including FaceBook, Twitter, etc. Since these platforms are private companies and aren’t run by the government, it doesn’t violate Freedom of Speech. In fact, Republicans are far more likely to say major tech companies favor the views of liberals over conservatives.
In political campaigning, social media acts as the ultimate tool to hinder voting results. Online filter bubbles filter out information that contradicts people’s point of view. With online advertising, this allows the government to target specific groups with advertisements to persuade voters.
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