Social Media and Its Influence on Polarization

 Nathan Gonzalez

Mr. Storer

Literature/Composition 4

06 November 2020

Social Media and its Influence on Polarization

Three quarters of the U.S. population use social media (“Social Media Usage in U.S.”). In the last 5 years, the rise of political content on social media has drastically changed the online landscape that users navigate every day. People who engage in political discourse online are flooded from both sides of the political sphere with opinionated and influential content; and whether it’s intentional or not, this is pressuring those in the middle to congregate toward either side, signaling that the rise of political content on social media is the main influencer of today's extreme polarization. Studying fields like political science and psychology can help us understand the process in which people conform and end up existing at one of two triumphing political terminals.

Social media plays a large role in most people's lives, especially now, where a majority of our interactions with others are based upon platforms like facebook, instagram, and twitter. These interactions have been growing more politically charged as the U.S. closes in on a presidential election cycle. In 2018, 244 million people in the U.S. alone used social media(“Social Media Usage in U.S.”). As shown in study by Monica Anderson and Brooke Auxier, 55% of U.S. social media users report being ‘worn out’ by the amount of political discussions they see online, and only 15% say they like seeing political posts and discussions online (Anderson and Auxier). In 2020, an estimated 2.8 billion dollars has been spent on political ad campaigns in digital media, verifying that online political media does make a difference. These advertisements and discussions online combine to create a machine with the single goal of influencing people to come join their side of the rope. 

On social media it is easy to find people having virtuous, respectable conversations about politics and current issues, but it is just as easy, if not easier to find those who go to savage extremes while arguing politics online, leading to those who want to stay away from conflict and scrutiny to conform to either side. Conformity in its most basic form is a type of social influence, and is a mechanism in which an individual, or a group has an impact on other people’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors (Cherry). This mostly implicit psychological process causes individuals to believe that group norms are appropriate or ethical, and persuades them to change their own behavior to match the behavior of the group. There are three main types of conformity that we see in the U.S. political sphere. Normative conformity is usually the way we think about the word ‘conform,’ it involves simply changing your behavior to fit in with the group. Informational conformity is where someone who lacks information looks to the group for direction, this is the mechanism that is most likely to influence younger people. Identification conformity is the most convoluted of the three. In Identification conformity, someone changes their behavior in a public setting, but in private their opinions remain their own (Cherry). In some cases these people transition from identification conformers to ‘political chameleons;’ people who change their public opinion or behavior based on the group or individual they are with and the social environment (Feenstra). The interesting, and unfortunate possible outcome of this is that if that legislators are basing their laws off of public opinion, and that public opinion is skewed with conformity and bent views of reality, the law might not truly reflect what is essential to the public. From a psychological standpoint, a study performed by Taylor Freenstra in which individuals were to take a pretest to create a baseline for their personality traits and political standpoints, Feentstra found that those who scored higher in extraversion and neuroticism on the Big Five personality test were less likely to conform when pressured politically, and those who scored high in openness and introversion were more likely to conform, and to conform on more issues.

There are plenty of outcomes due to the polarization in the U.S.. Even further separation of parties could promote isolation between those who have different political stances, meaning less each party can find in common with one another, and less dialogue sparked between them to spark ideas as a whole. The self-isolating parties will exist in an echo chamber in which the only stances they will hear are stances from their party, and their ideas will be infinitely confirmed by others within that party, leading them to possibly believe that their opinion is the only correct one. The monotonous flow and routine of the same ideas over and over could result in individuals who will not take no for an answer, and will be stubborn to attend to ideas of others; perpetuating the polarization. As for conformity, the less people who spark discourse about issues in the U.S. political environment will counteract the purpose of the first amendment. Our guarantee for free speech will be blanketed by the idea that citizens will voluntarily not use that right to engage in important conversation (Newport, “The Impact of Increased Political Polarization”). Another unfortunate outcome is that due to the two party system, voting for third party candidates results in essentially throwing your vote into the wind in the context of voting against the two ‘titans’ of a polarized U.S. vote. 

I believe that the solution to this problem is much broader than one single formula, but I have confidence that little things will help open up conversation that will eventually clear this obstacle sitting in the way of our democracy. Education plays a large part in the current split in the U.S.. If highschools included mandatory classes such as debate, or life skills class the result could assist in preparing those entering adulthood to responsibly and critically think about issues from both sides and strike productive conversation rather than flocking to the poles. A life skills class that includes how to pay bills, invest, apply for credit cards, purchase cars, etc in its curriculum will provide useful information that young people who want to take part in political discussion can use in context when forming their opinion on a specific topic. Without productive political discourse, there are no productive politics, education and an open political stage free from prejudice and bias is our key to solving this problem. `

In conclusion, the information that we consume and people we interact with influence greatly the stances we take, and the conformity that social media implicitly pressures the U.S. population to engage in is not only detrimental to the original purpose of first amendment, and the notion that legislators create laws based on the public's perspective, but is the spearhead governor of the U.S. extreme polarization problem.

Bibliography

Anderson, Monica, and Brooke Auxier. “55% of U.S. Social Media Users Say They Are ‘Worn out’ by Political Posts and Discussions.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 19 Aug. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/19/55-of-u-s-social-media-users-say-they-are-worn-out-by-political-posts-and-discussions. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.

Binning, Kevin R., et al. “Going along versus Getting It Right: The Role of Self-Integrity in Political Conformity.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 56, 1 Jan. 2015, pp. 73–88, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103114001243, 10.1016/j.jesp.2014.08.008. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.

Cherry, Kendra. “Conformity and Behavior.” Verywell Mind, Verywellmind, 20 May 2013, www.verywellmind.com/what-is-conformity-2795889.

Feenstra, Taylor. “Political Chameleons: An Exploration of Personality and Political Conformity.” Undergraduate Honors Theses, 1 Apr. 2014, scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/29/. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.

Newport, Frank. “The Impact of Increased Political Polarization.” Gallup.com, Gallup, 5 Dec. 2019, news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/268982/impact-increased-political-polarization.aspx.

“Popular Delusions: How Social Conformity Molds Society and Politics By Stephen Coleman.” Www.Cambriapress.com, www.cambriapress.com/cambriapress.cfm?template=4&bid=121. Accessed 6 Nov. 2020.

Suhay, Elizabeth, and D Washington. Political Conformity: Evidence and Mechanisms. 2016.

“Social Media Usage in U.S.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social-network-profile/#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20an.

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