Honestly, how often do you see a video about politics on TikTok or Instagram and immediately find it credible? Do you fact check or tell your friend about the “news” you heard online last night? Approximately ninety five percent of teenagers use at least one social media platform according to the Pew Research Center. That’s around ninety five percent of teenagers in America spreading misinformation online and in person. Sometimes, this information can be harmless. However, when it is politically charged, it can lead to exaggerated beliefs and in some cases, radical actions between differing parties.
Over the past two years, there has been increasing political violence in the United States and internationally. Last year’s election and the Israeli Palestinian War have been major contributors to the rise in political extremism. In September, Republican activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated. In June, two Minnesota lawmakers were killed in their homes. Also the governor of Pennsylvania’s home was set on fire while he slept, and two assassination attempts were made on the US President’s life last year. The divide between the two sides of American politics is widening daily and this can be attributed to social media.
Social media‘s algorithm works by using watch history and data to find what videos interest the viewer the most and then increasing the frequency of those videos. Often, these algorithms can result in an “echo chamber” effect. Simply, people of one political party can like videos aligned with their beliefs, and their algorithm will only produce videos that support their opinions. This can be detrimental because the viewer is only seeing one side of an issue, and when it comes to radical beliefs and conspiracies, social media becomes a source of validation.
In addition to validating biased and exaggerated information, social media has desensitized citizens. There is so much violent behavior from both sides in the media that it rarely shocks anyone anymore. Unfortunately, it has become normalized, and in some cases people are beginning to believe political violence is an acceptable solution.
Violence can directly stem from social media by providing a platform for radical groups to communicate and organize attacks/riots. For instance, the Capital Riots were exasperated by means of social media, where the President used his X account to tweet, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild.” Online extremist groups brought weapons to the Capitol Riot and readily committed violent acts upon the nation’s representatives.
Moreover, individuals’ social media posts can indicate violence and unlawful content. James Hodgkinson, who opened fire on Republican Congressmen at a charity baseball game had expressed strong opposition to Republican ideals on his social pages. Social media’s aspect of anonymity allowed him to post statements such as, “It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.,” which he may not have claimed otherwise. Online support could have incited confidence in the perpetrator and caused him to act violently against these Members of Congress.
Teenagers are especially vulnerable when it comes to accepting false and radical political claims on social media. They are online the majority of their days, get their news from social media and rarely fact check. Teenagers often repost this information to further spread what possibly are false truths. Moreover, young adults are very impressionable, and if their algorithm tells them to believe one political belief and villainize the other, they are likely to do it. Extremist groups target the adolescent generation to follow their beliefs causing a new generation open to committing violent acts for a political value.
To conclude, in a world where political violence is increasingly more prominent, it’s important to get information from reliable, unbiased, sources rather than social media. Teenagers should especially caution what their feeds tell them to believe and try to form their own political opinion by researching information from both sides.
