Public Opinion and Social Media

At a simple level, social media makes connection easy. We can talk to our childhood friends, our posts can go viral and be seen by millions, and all in all we can share our opinions. As social media is the main venue for younger generations to communicate with, many people have turned to using these platforms for advertising and campaigning purposes to share their ventures. Often the spread of information quickly is convenient and helpful. Most relevantly, it makes me think of how we wouldn’t be able to watch the Olympics or be able to follow along with the athletes. Social medias are often tools used by local or government officials to communicate urgent matters. Your local fire department probably has a Twitter profile (or X) where they share updates on local fires, and the National Park Service communicates important updates on several platforms. But we’ve gotten used to the convenience of having all information at our fingertips, and as a result, have been conditioned to take a lot of information from the internet all at once and often believe it. It’s hard to disseminate it when every time a person uses a social media site, they’re greeted with a barrage of information from just about everyone sharing their thoughts or their platforms. And all too often, an individual gains trust and people begin to blindly follow. They may have been previously deemed credible, but their contribution to the spread of misinformation becomes dangerously easy. 

Beyond the political implications, I also want to mention the other issue here: conspiracy theories. The faked moon landing. The earth is flat. There are people who wholeheartedly believe that these things are in fact real, when misinformation has only been fed worse by the internet. You’ve probably met some, even I have recently encountered multiple people like this. It wouldn’t surprise me if there are even people who believe in the “birds are government drones” concept, even though its entire intention is to show how easy it is to believe false information and mock those who fall for it. 

In the end, social media platforms are good for communicating. The issue is more what’s being communicated. People have a personal responsibility to themselves to vet the information they receive to confirm its accuracy. However, there needs to be more accountability on the sharing of information to prevent less misinformation from being spread and allow more correct information to be known by and educate more people.