Research conducted by the Pew Research Center has revealed that Americans have some pretty mixed feelings about social media platforms that they use on a regular basis. A lot of Americans believe that social media is important because of the fact that it facilitates activism as well as gives normal people platforms that they can use in order to make it so that they can spread what they believe to other people that might just be amenable to it.
On the other hand, it turns out that a lot of Americans have a fairly negative view of social media too. For these people, social media is little more than a distraction. Even more so than that, it might lead people to believe that what they are doing is actually activism when in truth it is not really making all that much of a difference yet because of the fact that social media consists of a positive feedback loop which might not allow people to realize that what they are doing isn’t effective activism in any way, shape or form.
That said, 80% of Americans do think that social media platforms can have some kind of an impact. Almost the same number of Americans believe that social movements can arise from social media platforms and that these movements can be sustained through these platforms as well. Hence, the Americans that think that social media can’t really do all that much are most certainly in the minority. If you look at it from a political point of view, it seems that around 60% of Americans on average feel like social media is the most effective way yet of getting public figures to do the right thing, or at the very least do what they want them to do.
The most unique aspect of the information that has been collected in this research has to do with how bipartisan it is. It seems like people’s opinions on social media platforms and the good they can do for society usually don’t have all that much to do with their political leanings. While Democrats do tend to have a more positive view of social media on average, Republicans also seem to favor these platforms and while their majority is smaller it is still a resounding majority nonetheless. A good example of this is with social media raising awareness about issues. 86% of democratic leaning people believe social media to have a positive impact on raising awareness, and while the number for Republicans is 12 percentage points lower that still means it’s 74% which means three out of every four Republican leaning Americans do tend to believe this sort of thing all in all.
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On the other hand, it turns out that a lot of Americans have a fairly negative view of social media too. For these people, social media is little more than a distraction. Even more so than that, it might lead people to believe that what they are doing is actually activism when in truth it is not really making all that much of a difference yet because of the fact that social media consists of a positive feedback loop which might not allow people to realize that what they are doing isn’t effective activism in any way, shape or form.
That said, 80% of Americans do think that social media platforms can have some kind of an impact. Almost the same number of Americans believe that social movements can arise from social media platforms and that these movements can be sustained through these platforms as well. Hence, the Americans that think that social media can’t really do all that much are most certainly in the minority. If you look at it from a political point of view, it seems that around 60% of Americans on average feel like social media is the most effective way yet of getting public figures to do the right thing, or at the very least do what they want them to do.
The most unique aspect of the information that has been collected in this research has to do with how bipartisan it is. It seems like people’s opinions on social media platforms and the good they can do for society usually don’t have all that much to do with their political leanings. While Democrats do tend to have a more positive view of social media on average, Republicans also seem to favor these platforms and while their majority is smaller it is still a resounding majority nonetheless. A good example of this is with social media raising awareness about issues. 86% of democratic leaning people believe social media to have a positive impact on raising awareness, and while the number for Republicans is 12 percentage points lower that still means it’s 74% which means three out of every four Republican leaning Americans do tend to believe this sort of thing all in all.
Read next: What Brands Need To Know and Do About Capitalizing Onto The Current 5G Market
