By Staff
Through the years social media has become increasingly more popular and its growing impact on individuals everyday life has been evident through recent events. Within the younger generation of society this impact is even more detrimental. If you look around, who do you know that doesn’t have at least some form of social media? Moving into a world that depends so deeply on social media has raised some issues once we take a further look. Our dependence on social media for entertainment, news, and knowledge has raised a considerable amount of concern for lawmakers and leaders.
There’s no question that social media has impacted the way many people view politics as well as news. This fact has caused concern within our white house along with the members of congress. The increase in the circulation of fake and inaccurate news along with the younger demographic’s tendency to blindly follow what is seen on line has given leaders a new aspect to consider when running for election, proposing new laws, or with most other aspects of their occupations. Due to this many people have raised the idea of banning political topics, posts, and content from social media platforms all together.
Studies done by The Center for Humane Technology found that in 2020 53% of American Adults used social media to get their news. It was also found that Gen-Z has the highest share of obtaining news from social media platforms, with 71% saying they consume news on social media at least once a week. This alone is not enough to raise concern but when taken in account with the amount of inaccurate news on social media this statistic is alarming. A study done by Temple University’s Professor of Information Systems and Management, Min-Seok Pang, has found that the amount of inaccurate information is on the rise. His research shows that 67% of Americans have come across fake news on the internet and 10% have knowingly shared this information with others.
The consumption of inaccurate information on social media can be extremely dangerous to the future of American politics and government. During election years especially some of the most common and important topics within the news revolve around politics and the government. If this information being consumed by young viewers on social media is incorrect it could have lasting impacts on the way our country. Not only is the impact of inaccurate information dangerous but political views being exposed to an extreme on social media has become dangerous on an individual level.
Political views have become associated with a person’s morality, character and values. This has become a polarizing issue among a new generation of voters. With social media becoming a critical factor in determining people’s political positions, our country’s pool of eligible voters has become more divided than ever. This divide has translated into extreme behavior both online and offline, in some cases leading dangerous and harmful acts. While nothing has become official the idea of banning political topics on social media is circulated throughout the minds of congress. Some hope that the change could lead to a stronger and more united country while others view this as a limitation to one first amendment rights of freedom of speech.
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