How Social Media Has Changed Politics

Double-Edged Sword of New and Social Media

What I love about new media is the interactivity of it. Old media is a bit more passive—especially television; but even print media, one is restricted to the content on the page. But with new media, one can click on a link and end up reading about something or watching a video on something else that has nothing whatsoever to do with the content you were originally engaging with when you got on the Internet. New media is so unpredictable in that way, and it makes consumption of it a lot more fun and interesting than the consumption of old media. The best part of new media, however, is that the entire experience can be free. YouTube does not require a paid membership for content, and neither does Twitter or Instagram. But if I wanted to receive a magazine in the mail, I’d be paying for it. If I wanted cable TV at my house, it would cost me. I can check out influencers on social media for all the latest information on virtually any topic, however, which means I don’t have to pay for a subscription to legacy media. Influencers are looking to establish themselves and develop income through streaming on YouTube, so they will put out great information in order to get viewers and followers. It’s a win-win for consumers of new media and for producers of new media. Producers put themselves in charge of their own brand, their own content, and their own messaging. They are in control—not some studio or production company. New media has really allowed for the democratization of content (Sanchez-Medero, 2021).

New media is digital media; social media is media that relies on the network effect. New media can be a blog, but for a blog to become popular it needs that social media effect—i.e., the power of social media to help it gain viewers (Penn, 2021). Social media operates on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, where people can network and exchange information.

Social media have changed political and social cultures in many ways. One way is that they have democratized cultures more by putting information into the hands of more people who can generate their own content. Another way is that they have made political culture more polarizing, as people are now more prone to see others as in one of two camps (left vs. right). A third way is that they have changed social cultures by changing the way people communicate and interact—online as opposed to face-to-face. There is now also less of a sense of privacy; everything is now seemingly for public consumption.

These changes have been for the better in one sense: now people can rely on themselves for content. They do not have to accept what corporations sell them. In the other sense, it is worse, because the line between public and private has been blurred into oblivion. There is also less in-person human interaction.