Social media inarguably poses threats to democracy: disinformation and misinformation, polarisation, echo chambers, bots and rage-inducing algorithms. Excessive social media use and poor moderation can threaten our wellbeing and safety. There’s an understandably strong media focus on these severe harms and threats.
But for most people in the UK, social media treads more lightly on our lives. People watch and share videos, help each other in community forums and marketplaces, and keep up with family and friends. It’s important to examine how most people use and experience social media, and how newer patterns of use (driven by changes to these platforms over the last 10 years) have more quietly shaped our culture and politics in the UK.
This paper explores these changes: who these platforms show us, who they don’t show us, and what the cultural, democratic and political consequences might be. Importantly, we still have choices, and we need to make good ones.
