With 169 million Instagram users in the US, the platform inevitably plays a significant role in shaping public opinion and political conversations. And with the emergence of social media influencers with huge fan followings, they have played critical roles in modifying the flow of events by actively discussing the country's politics and even influencing the masses.
But how is the topic relevant to you? Assuming you are a social media user, agency analyst or influencer, the article holds a treasure of information that helps you navigate through the challenges. Explore how navigating the complexities of political discussions on social media platforms requires a delicate balance between expressing personal views and maintaining respect. Learn why being aware of the potential pitfalls of misinformation, polarization, and online harassment is crucial.
The Intersection of Politics and Social Media
The common usage of social media has led to its numerous applications. Political campaigns are also a part of this list.
The Rise of Social Media as a Political Tool
Social media has become an increasingly significant part of the daily lives of billions of users, and politics is no exception. Its impact on politics has become a new trend as it grows in importance as a forum for political activism. Various social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, provide new and innovative ways to motivate citizens to engage in political life. It is indeed one of the best ways to pull ideas out of a large audience in an incredibly short period.
Impact on Public Opinion and Democracy
Social media has become a replacement platform for discussions, arguments, and debates for the public, with the added feature of anonymity. It eases the expression of thoughts and views as most of the random public discussion occurs among strangers. Hence, social media impacts users in multiple ways, leading to both positive and negative consequences. According to the Pew Research Centre’s survey, a median of 57% of countries find social media to be good, while 35% have opposite views. The possible impacts of social media are:
- It can manipulate people by easily spreading fake and inaccurate information. It eases dividing them.
- Helps gain empathy for social movements by portraying the narrative information as a specific individual or group perceives
- The hypocrisy of people negatively influences the masses. For instance, a person can have a certain view but exhibit different or opposing views for unethical and immoral purposes.
- Offers transparency and accountability through live streams and direct communication
- Provides a platform to voice one’s justification and explanation over choices and situations
- Allows voicing the demands through different measures like trends and hashtags
- Increases awareness and information through good social media influencers.
- Empowers minority groups to raise awareness on less socially accepted or recognized issues
Guess these are some of the reasons why governments from several countries (e.g., USA & India) are becoming increasingly proficient and prolific in using social media.
Key Political Challenges on Social Media
Political campaigns run on social media can carry this huge risk of getting negative comments from critics and opposing party supporters, which can have an adverse effect on their supporter’s decisions. Let’s elaborate on the negative influences here for better understanding:
Misinformation and Disinformation
This is one of the most common and easy ways to influence and reinforce negative points. Often, people end up blindly believing and reacting to any info shared without cross-question or verification.
Further, the account or person modifying the facts is either challenging to find or rarely held accountable for. It must be understood that misinformation occurs due to a lack of information and is unintentional, but disinformation is intentionally spread to achieve the wrong motives.
Echo Chamber Effect
Social media algorithms are designed to provide content based on user preferences. The same thing happens in the case of political views or beliefs, which leads to the occurrence of bias. Users get to see more of the content related to their beliefs, and the phenomenon is the echo chamber effect.
It leads to the assumption of individuals that the masses agree with their thought processes or ideologies. Further, it also limits interaction with opposing views, devoting the individuals to both accurate/inaccurate information and subsequently leading to reinforcement of existing opinions.
Polarization and Tribalism
Polarization refers to the situation where the groups existing in a society stick to a stable and mutually exclusive belief regardless of their access to communication and interaction. Tribalism refers to the strong loyalty or preference people show towards their own group or beliefs.
The stated terms are the impact in situations when exaggerated views for/of specific groups on social media are expressed. Such views are stated to exhibit a portrayal of extreme thoughts. Devoting individuals to inaccurate information leads to both polarization and tribalism.
Online Harassment and Abuse (Impact on Political Discourse)
Cyberbullying, harassment, and threats are some of the common actions witnessed on social media. Harassment and abuse can amplify extremist beliefs and deter individuals from participating in political discourse.
This impacts mental and physical health and reduces the willingness to participate or voice opinions. The actions are also likely to amplify the beliefs of specific political groups, thus creating extremism.
Censorship and Free Speech Concerns
While everyone wants to exercise free speech, social media platforms limit it through censorship. Censorship affects free speech by reducing content reach, making it difficult to find certain influencers or posts, and promoting content that aligns with specific beliefs. Hence, censorship violates the ability to obtain accurate information.
Manipulation and Influence Campaigns
Deliberately targeted manipulation and influence campaigns are fueled by disinformation. With ease of spread and leveraging the power of algorithm bias, these not only reinforce the beliefs but also hold the ability to influence users of other or opposing beliefs wrongly. Going beyond the political aspect, the manipulation and influence campaigns also exhibited a poor impact on the health, finances and economics of the country.
Strategies for Navigating Social Media Political Challenges
One can easily pass the social media political challenges by following well-curated strategies. They are:
1. Promoting Media Literacy and Critical Thinking
Awareness and education have always been great tools for combating any issue. The political challenges on social media can also be lowered through this. Efforts must be put into teaching how to identify misinformation, the necessary steps to take before believing or reacting to the information and how to interact with others.
2. Engaging in Constructive Political Dialogue
Teaching the etiquette of interaction will encompass encouraging the usage of correct language and dialogues while understanding and acknowledging the other’s viewpoint. It can enhance open-minded communication and the ability to accept rather than go on debate without direction.
3. Utilizing Fact-Checking Resources
Expecting individuals to invest time in research and verification of content they come across is impractical. However, inculcating the habit of utilizing fast-checking resources is possible. With numerous databases and websites available to check the news, the large number of negative influences on social media can be eliminated.
4. Supporting Ethical and Transparent Social Media Practices
Having direct access to a large volume of voters has its downsides. While handlers and public relations professionals try hard to manage a candidate’s/politician's image, rumors, fake news, and controversies often land them in embarrassing situations. The scenario can be passed through by maintaining transparency on their actions. Further, following ethical considerations and acting responsibly can help one become an accountable individual.
Social Media and the Future of Politics
The influence of social media on politics has been witnessed during the Indian elections in 2024 to a certain extent. Numerous influencers were actively seen participating by making thought-provoking content. Further, more social movements are expected to be trending in the coming scenarios. Internet voting is one big trend that we can expect; this trend could definitely lead to increased participation in elections. Polling techniques are expected to become more common and hopefully more accurate. Expect more virtual political rallies; this one is surely going to be an interesting site to observe.
Leverage ReportGarden for Political Social Media Data Analysis
Social media has redesigned structures and methods of modern political communication by transforming the way politicians interact with voters and each other. But, the role of this marvel in increasing electoral participation and political engagement is neither clear nor simple. Regardless, if you are planning to leverage the situation for your benefit, there is a lot of logical scope for you.
ReportGarden offers template reports for various social media tools with clear and concise reporting features. You can analyze the performance of content via different key parameters and metrics suitable for your goals. ReportGarden also allows the customization of dashboards to help you get the relevant information. Further, it is easy to interpret, and different forms of data visualization also contribute to decision-making and logical understanding.
