# How Social Media Impacted Modern Society One of the main tools used by social media to earn money is microtargeting ads. See [[Thoughts on Microtargeting]]. ## Echo Chambers Exposure to different points of view is essential to mankind's ability to correct wrong opinions. Or, to quote [[John Stuart Mill]]: ![[On Liberty#^cessbw]] Social media puts people in echo chambers that make this difficult, thereby undermining progress (this from [[Yes, Social Media Really Is Undermining Democracy]]): ![[Yes, Social Media Really Is Undermining Democracy#^f07ipb]] A related effect of echo chambers is to make political extremes seem more acceptable as the other side is less visible. This leads to public shaming of opinions that deviate even slightly from the norm, further promoting extreme points of view (people want to be liked). An example of this is a completely reasonable opinion J. K. Rowling expressed in regards to trans activism, leading her to be completely eviscerated online, with some extremists even calling for burning of Harry Potter books. [[J.K. Rowling Writes About Her Reasons for Speaking Out on Sex and Gender Issues - J.K. Rowling]]. ## Fake News I've argued that [[Social Media Gave Birth to Fake News]] and that the [[Rise of Social Media Could Be Linked to The Rise of Populism]]. When discussing these topics with DeAnna, she reminded me of two concepts from mass communications: the [[Two-Step Flow]] and the [[Uses and Gratifications Theory]], which are highly relevant when thinking about this. Fake news seems to be especially detrimental to modern democracy, as [[Jonathan Haidt]] eloquently argues in [[Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid]]. This necessitates educating people as early as possible how to identify it, kind of what Finland is doing. See [[How Finland Is Teaching a Generation to Spot Misinformation]]. Poor education tends to lead to an increased likelihood of succumbing to fake news. Evidence for this can be seen in recent research that shows that [[The Far-Right is Much More Susceptible to Fake News]], due to lower educational levels. Fake news has led to a decreased trust in institutions. This decreased trust has been especially evident during the corona virus crisis, with vaccine hesitancy. See [[Needle Points]] and [[Why Your Uncle Isn’t Going to Get Vaccinated]]. ## Us-Versus-Them and Decreased Trust ![[Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid#^kaqpux]] (part of my own summary of Haidt's [[Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid]]) The 'us-versus-them' mentality then leads to an increase in violence, an example of which are the January 6 riots. Removal of Trump from Twitter seems seems like a justified response as he was adding fuel to the social media fire. For more see [[Justifying The Trump Twitter Ban]]. The 'us-versus-them' mentality has also led to increased disgust of the other side, ultimately resulting in [[Banning University Speakers Literature and Other Forms of Censorship in Education]]. ## Teen Depression Teen self-evaluation surveys indicate that depression levels have sharply risen with the advent of social media. The levels sharply jumped and stayed high, showing we're not dealing with a spike. Social media has these impacts because it exacerbates the feelings of being left out, and dramatically decreases teens' self-confidence: ![[Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation#^34bu7m]] Because most teens access social media using their phones, it has also led to more sleep deprivation, which is also a precursor for depression. ![[Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation#^xm4xzw]]