How Social Media and Network Society affected Politics

Nowadays, news consumption practices are rapidly changing. Whilst in the past society relied heavily on journalist professionals to document news, social media started to let ordinary people in the process (Bergström & Jervelycke Belfrage, 2018)

Contrasting to the days where people had to wait for the next day’s newspaper to come out or television news to air, social media has the power to share news instantly after an event happened. People spend much more time on social media apps like Facebook and Twitter, than on serious political websites. Thanks to social media apps like Facebook and Instagram, people don’t even need to look for news on a website, but it appears on their newsfeed. This updates you with the latest news stories without the need for the act of looking for them. This is a very helpful tool when it comes to politics, since when campaigns are taking place, people can know what is going on at all times. Thanks to social network sites’ algorithms, your “likes” or “follows” determine which news appears on your news feed (Satterfield, 2020). Social network sites facilitate your engagement with news, through sharing, posting and commenting (Satterfield, 2020).

Communication with Politicians

In the past, if you wanted to meet a politician, you’d have to attend a live event. Now, voters can interact more easily with candidates. Social media sites are more and more frequently being used in a political context. Twitter can be considered to be an ideal space to share opinions and political views. The need for political institutions to monitor what is being said on the social media is growing. People also like to give their views on sites like Facebooks. Many join groups or pages for the purposes of discussing political issues or scenarios. Going back a few years, there were major ethical and financial hurdles one has to overcome to have his message across publicly. Now, these social network sites can give you the opportunity to share your views for free at the click of a button (Satterfield, 2020).

Political campaigns can tap into a wealth of information or analytics about the people who are following them on social media and customize their messages based on selected demographics. A campaign may find one message appropriate for voters under 30 years old will not be as effective with those over 60 Polling techniques now virtualize political rallies. It has the power to give indications of who or which party will win an upcoming election.

The age of misinformation / The Power of Many

Whilst giving power in the hands of the ordinary individual has its benefits, fake news has now become a reality we face on a day to day basis. One can say that we are living in the age of misinformation.

According to a particular research, 72% say that technology has made it much easier for people to spread false information and rumors. If this study is accurate, it is nowadays much easier for individuals to become manipulated. On one hand, social media has made people better informed, but on the other hand, they have also become easier to manipulate (McMullen, 2016).

The use of headlines or captions on political posts can also be misleading on viewers who might just be scrolling through their news feed. Nowadays, people have less time to read so tend to rely heavily on headlines to become informed on current affairs. These can often be deceptive. They are made to entice the viewer to read the article. Hence, they frequently display a partial truth which often carries much more exciting news than that found in the article. It is quite easy for an individual who favours a particular political party to issue an article whos’ headline unsightly puts the opposing party’s name to shame.

Finally, it is safe to say that social media and network society have had both positive and negative influences on politics. Whilst they have given the public the tools to have a voice in the world, power in the hands of the unqualified can many times have its consequences.

References

Bergström, A., & Jervelycke Belfrage, M. (2018). News in Social Media. Digital Journalism, 6(5), 583–598. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1423625

Satterfield, H. (2020, May 8). How Social Media Affects Politics. Meltwater. https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/social-media-affects-politics.

McMullen, A. (2016, October 26). How Does Social Media Affect Retail Businesses. Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/social-media-affect-retail-businesses-39275.html