Digital media – a threat to democracy? The evidence is piling up
www.mpg.de
Digital media are increasingly shaping the political landscape worldwide. A new replication study takes a closer look at earlier research on the influence of digital media on democracy and confirms worrying developments. Although digital media offer opportunities for political participation and access to information, they also contribute to polarization, declining trust in institutions, and the spread of misinformation.

Digital media such as social media, messenger groups or comment columns in online media have a predominantly negative influence on political processes. They can encourage populist movements, increase polarization and undermine trust in institutions.

  • orcrist@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    5 days ago

    Correlation is not causation. This is Statistics 101… I can point to other things that are correlated with the rise in the far right. For example, centralization, the increase in monopolies, the number of years since World War II, the average temperature of the earth, the number of years into the new millennium.

    Anyway, when I read your comment on the whole what I actually see is that your concerned that social media is too centralized and therefore ripe for abuse. That’s vastly different from saying that social media itself is inherently going to be abused.

    • wuzzlewoggle@feddit.orgEnglish
      2·
      5 days ago

      Corellation is not causation but in this case it is very suspicious and studies like these show that there might be causation That’s why I said it’s not proof but needs to be studied further.

      And yes, of course I mean centralized, profit driven social media. But that is the overwhelming majority of social media.