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Illustration of a group providing feedback Picture from Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

Do we let social media dictate our opinions?

Posljednje ažuriranje ponedjeljak, 25/03/2024

Social media only presents you with content which you might like. But what if, as well as being fed cat videos based on the cat videos you have recently viewed, you are simply being fed opinions similar to your own in your newsfeed?

What feeds democracy? A variety of opinions. Different views of the world. Pluralism. A real, functioning democracy needs differences of opinion and discussion. 

But what happens when there is no variety of opinion? If only one view exists? It sounds like some kind of dictatorship, but the growing importance of social media means that, nowadays, opinions are filtered even in democracies. A bold claim, isn’t it! But just think about the following situation: On social media, you have ‘liked’ a post. Perhaps you didn’t even ‘like’ it, you just spent somewhat longer on it than you would on average for other posts. Shortly afterwards, you get offered similar posts. That’s how social media works. On the basis of what we have already viewed, algorithms work out which content we find interesting and like and tend to show only those in our newsfeed.  

This means that you end up in a social media bubble, where you are offered only your own opinion, as the algorithm would have failed if, for example, it noted that you advocated for queer issues and then showed you a post written by a homophobe. What you already think determines the content you are shown, which, in turn, influences your thinking. 

The lack of counter-opinions avoids the need for argument – but it is argument which is essential for forming an opinion. You cannot look critically at your own opinions if you are never confronted by other opinions. Yet critical assessment of one’s own opinions is an essential part of a democratic society. 

It is also problematic, or even a threat to democracy under certain circumstances, when an opinion is further energised because not only is it never called into question, but it is being constantly confirmed in the bubble in which you move. Now just imagine nationalists who only see posts confirming them in their opinion, radicalising them ever more until, by and by, they end up in an extremist bubble...  

What can be done? These algorithms do have a role to play up to a certain point – after all, the sheer volume of contributions is so great that it makes sense to show only relevant content. One possible way to mitigate the problem would be to make the algorithms transparent to everyone, so that we all know exactly why certain content is being shown to us. But you can also do something yourself: when you are on social media, just be aware that you are only seeing contributions that match your filter. In that way, you will not be misled into thinking that your own opinion is necessarily that of the majority, or the only true one. Your newsfeed does not reflect the diversity of opinion in the world. It is therefore all the more important to actively engage with other opinions, so as to test your own. So make sure you deliberately leave your bubble, for example, by sourcing news not only from social media but also from the traditional media such as newspapers.

 

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Meet the author Mai Ly Le (Member of the pool of European young journalists – Edition 2022)

"I am Mai Ly, 17 years old and I come from Darmstadt, Germany. At my school, I have founded a school newspaper and enjoy standing up for students’ rights as head girl. In my freetime, I play the violin, dance acrobatic Rock’n’Roll and read a lot."

 

This article reflects the views of the author only. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for it. The original version of this article was written in German.

 

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