PUB 101 Essay 1: Does social media Create a Space for Democratic Conversation?

Today, social media is so entwined in our daily lives we can send or receive any kind of information just by the click of a button. We have become very accustomed to being connected to the internet, literally in our back pockets with tucked away phones. If you asked anyone, walking down the street if they have facebook you would most likely get an affirmative yes.

The emergence of these platforms has changed the world in so many ways, especially in the ways information is presented, received, and digested. With the prevalence of this type of connectivity, one can become too caught up in a world that is not reality. Social media gives society the opportunity to widen the pathways to connect giving a democratic space for dialogue yet it can also divide.

Despite social media’s freedom of expression, access to unbiased quality information is restricted by algorithms based on personal preferences, therefore control over what we watch and read by a third party can impair our judgments. In this way more extreme voices can be amplifying a point of view that threatens social medias fragile status as an arena of true public deliberation. It has become apparent over the last years, that the flooding of information via social media has intensified the divide between polarizing forces. Although social media normalizes the ideals of democratic free speech – we must realize that the medium is more subjective rather than objective, according to personal branding and algorithms. In this way influencers or content creatives, fight to have their voices heard. Personal branding on social media is shaping the public perception. In other words, an intimate voice has the influence to impose personal values on the masses. While we can take advantage of this to gain insight, how much of personal algorithms is manipulated to the point of it being dangerous.

According to Margert Roberts personalized algorithms can amplify extreme viewpoints. This cause issues of filtering, which are built upon:

Fear: forces behind censorship

Friction: delayed censorship and government intervention

And lastly flooding: to distract or confuse audiences via fake news

The flooding of information can be so overwhelming at times that it is hard to filter what is true.

Recently, the term fake news has been loosely used to describe the issues of filtering of information. Fake news is often misleading information that aims to damage a person or entity’s reputations or to create sensational reports. It pulls readers towards a narrative that can push an agenda causing polarization. According to Tucker, “Social-media technology is young, but has already played a part in numerous turbulent protests and a highly polarized U.S. election. Social media have often been described as the site for conflict between “good” democratic forces who use social media to make their voices heard”. Therefore, platforms are neither inherently democratic. Rather social media represents as a tool for individuals to use, often to push paradoxical goals. For example protestors can battle for influence on platforms or outsiders can impact an election such as in 2017 when BuzzFeed highlighted Trump supporters pretending to be French to manipulate the French election. The problem with this is it targets certain groups of people and presents them as threats which then can push towards violence.

The internet then creates this double reality that aims towards exclusion rather than giving voice to the voiceless. Loosely connected groups can mobilize and coordinate, consistent messages that seem reliant and credible, yet this creates more barriers. Due to the overwhelming amount of information flashing before our eyes – our brains take short cuts because we are mentally exhausted and see claims of ‘experts’ all over the internet. It is a battle of influence within the flow of free information that can causes polarization.

What is Polarization?  

According to Wikipedia, Polarization is the act of dividing something, especially something that contains different people or opinions, into two completely opposing groups. This creates extreme opposing views. Although social media gives voice to those excluded to political discussion, algorithms tailored to personal preferences distorts and loudens the voices of extremist. With so much information at our fingertips it is easy to feel bombarded with information that spikes up anxiety and takes a toll on mental health. We lean towards what is easy or comfortable. In the case of social media filtering is done by simply unfollowing someone. But does that give us a the whole picture?

There is no reason to believe that the internet can strengthen democracy, only accessibility to information. Whether we can filter overload of information depends on values and social norms of individuals.

 To prevent fake news, we need to seriously think about who is creating these types of content and why it is being created. Wardle, author of ‘Fake news. It’s complicated.’ urges us to reflect upon the core foundations and values surrounding society and how we live our lives. By taking a step back, to second guess instinctual reactions, we can act more rationally rather than emotionally.

Public information accessibility means faster results which enforces a sense of responsibility. To be digitally responsible means to respect and protect privacy and to be transparent. By being digitally responsible it can help reduce digital divide among the already sensitive information ecosystem of social media platforms.

Keeping in mind while, there are some negative associations with social media the positive aspects potentially outnumber the negative ones. Social media can be beneficial if it is used in the correct ways; It requires a balance to help social media be a good influence in one’s life – by motivating people through stories we can learn from. One must carefully weigh the benefits before engaging excessively in social media.

Works cited

Anderson and Rainie. “Concerns about democracy in the digital Age”, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/21/concerns-about-democracy-in-the-digital-age/

  Blokland, Hans. Pluralism, Democracy and Political Knowledge. Routledge, 2011, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315600925.

Dahl, R. A. (1998). On democracy. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

Tucker, Joshua A., et al. “From Liberation to Turmoil: Social Media And Democracy.” Journal of Democracy, vol. 28, no. 4, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017, pp. 46–59, https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2017.0064.

Wardle, Claire “Fake News. Its complicated.” First Draft https://firstdraftnews.org/articles/fake-news-complicated/

With the events of the last 2 years there has been more demand of being online, and defining a digital space for our personal and professional lives. Creating a space in the digital takes ingenuity; the way I think about it is being an artist with a blank canvas – and that first stroke entails fearless confidence.

This website is a space for learning and exploring – And I do confess I am building this website for a class I am taking, however EVERYONE is INVITED to come along the journey! I earnestly hope to provide insight into this fascinating subject of everyday self-publication.

As a publishing student, I am excited to create a space that not only showcases my personal quirky interests, but a place to connect and have conversations over coffee! Which is why I choose my blog name: Coffee with Belle.

What does it mean to be a self-publisher?

Whether or not you believe it, but each one of us are self-publishers.

With accessible internet right at our finger tips, it is easy to show everyone what you ate for lunch or that cute pose of your cat!

We do it everyday!For me, I spend more than a few hours a day on a screen. Statics say, the global average time spent using social media platforms per day is 142 minutes in 2021 – far higher than the 90 minutes recorded in 2012. The online world has become more a part of our daily lives – not only scrolling through social media but posting and sharing our personalities on instagram, tik tok etc. The rise of social media has brought way to a revolution of independent publishing and thats exciting!

xoxo Belle