Are Social Media Really a Democratic Tool?

Over the last few of months I decided to start my own 'not very scientific research' on the effect of fake news and the (in)ability to have a grown up conversation on social media. If you read some of my comments that sounded a little bit out of character, well they were as I was testing how the average person communicates on social media.

There are topics like Covid, for example, that inflame people a lot. What I noticed is that there is a common trend in the way people interact: someone writes a post or a comment based on personal convictions (not necessarily based on any kind of study or objective evidence of any kind). There is an escalation in the way that the "conversation" proceeds and a common path if you disagree with the view of the writer (also if you do it in a polite way). I tried both the polite and the non polite way, the result does not change.

This is what I found:

1. the person that made the comment, even if faced with objective evidence taken from official data, tends to state that it is all made up and part of a conspiracy theory or downplays it (sarcasm, emojis of any kind appear a lot at this stage). The aim is to discredit you;
2. if pressed on the topic (with even more evidence taken from reputable sources) they reply by repeating words and statements taken from tabloids or some dubious sources - for example "Covid is a conspiracy theory and you are blind (this is a much tamer version of the words used in reality) and cannot understand as you are ... (put anything that ranges from thick, ignorant, narrow minded, etc)";
3. The argument tends to escalate to the next level if you are a woman who is dissenting, especially when talking to a man. The comments start to get sexist to the point of "Dear..." or "Love ..." (add any synonym that comes to mind that is insulting and aimed at putting the female back to where in their view she belongs) "you are too ..." (again add thick, ignorant or anything else that is dispregiative and aimed at a personal attack based on your somewhat perceived 'inferior' gender. Due to the attempt to keep this piece professional I have not added what has been actually stated. I am confident you get the gist);
4. It tends to carry on with personal attacks and swearwords of all sorts (including threats, sexual innuendo, up to extreme cases of people wishing me to die. No, I am not making it up). I also got cases of cyber bullying and cyber harassment.

I wonder, where is the critical thinking? I am really worried that social media are now mostly a bundle of platforms where some people like to bark their own self perceived rightness and are unable to have a conversation to argue with someone that does not have the same point of view in a civil and grown up way.

I tested several platform and different topics and the results are exactly the same. Whether you comment on YouTube disagreeing with the "influencer" of the moment and uncover the marketing practices behind their "I am your friend" narrative or a more (perceived) "professional" platform like LinkedIn, people feel they can vent all sorts views. The result is exactly the same: the 4 points that I shared above.

It is scary. Whilst I do believe that social media have a lot of positives (e.g. giving people the chance to have a voice, share ideas, projects, experiences and much more), they are also a place where people can get easily manipulated. What I find really puzzling is the inability of some people to back up their statements with factual data. It feels like some individuals feel justified (or compelled?) to share whatever is going through their mind. There are no consequences for bullying, harassing or threatening other individuals, or for spreading fake news. It is astonishing.

My experiment is nowhere near being a scientific one, but just by dipping the toe in the water I could sense the anger, negativity and entitlement of some individuals. I am worried that if this "trend" is not being addressed by society it will explode in a much bigger way. I do not believe in censorship, but not even in the possibility to insult and harass people because they are not sharing your ideas.

Families and schools are at the centre of the solution as education and ability to think critically without insulting others are key. But as a citizen I demand more from the various social media platforms. I am not a teenager and I can think with my own head and argue my own points, but what about a 15 years old? What about those that do not have the strength to reply based on facts that have been tested by real qualified professionals - Covid is not a fad, in fact check the data by the WHO?

There are people that think that Wikipedia is the source of truth. Well, anyone can amend the data that appears on Wikipedia, there is very little control on whether the information provided is reliable or not. In the old days I used to consult the good old Encyclopaedia - yep, the physical book - and to back up my data, something that I still do nowadays. But it requires time, humbleness and the willingness to say "I was wrong as data such and such provides evidence that my view is actually not correct".

I recently re-read Animal Farm and 1984. I feel that we are actually (re-) enacting those stories. And yes, I am worried. Very worried.

Change starts from an individual and we need to demand accuracy of the information that is being disseminated. We also have to demand strict rules on how platforms have to react when fake news and harassing behaviours take place. Now they mostly go "free" even if detected. The effect of this lassie-faire attitude is in front of each one of us. Is it what we really want?

Have you experienced the same behaviour that I have when using social media? What is your view when it comes to the info disseminated on social media and the quality of the interactions?