Social media bad for democracy, Americans say
- 64 percent of Americans surveyed say social media is bad for democracy
- America is the outlier; majorities in most nations view social media positively
- In U.S., social media is infamous for spreading political misinformation
FILE – This combination of photos shows logos of X, formerly known as Twitter, top left; Snapchat, top right; Facebook, bottom left; and TikTok, bottom right. A federal judge extended a block on enforcement Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, of an Ohio law that would require children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps as a legal challenge proceeds. (AP Photo, File)
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(NewsNation) — American exceptionalism strikes again.
In addition to not adopting the metric system, referring to football as “soccer” and continuing to attend religious services, Americans are quite different from most of their counterparts in western nations when it comes to their attitude about social media.
While majorities in most countries view social media as generally a good thing for democracy, nearly two thirds of U.S. citizens disagree, a Pew Research study found. This comes as countries around the world prepare for key elections in 2024.
Only the Dutch (54%) and the French (51%) agree with the majority of Americans that social media doesn’t encourage democracy, but a far greater percentage of Americans — 64% — feel the same.
The role of social media in spreading misinformation has been widely discussed ahead of key U.S. elections. And though majorities in both parties say social media has been a bad thing for democracy in the U.S., Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more likely to say this than Democrats and Democratic leaners (74% vs. 57%).
In one way, Americans resemble their foreign peers: Those who use social media are significantly more likely than non-users to say that social media has benefited democracy in their country. In every country surveyed, there is a difference of at least 10 points between social media users and non-users on this question.
