Rebecca
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rscheffauer.bsky.social
Rebecca
@rscheffauer.bsky.social
Postdoc at DIW and Freie Universität Berlin

Researcher
Anything Survey Quality, Media, Politics, Social Media, AI or Algorithms!
Check out my publications over here: https://scholar.google.at/citations?user=1JYV6oIAAAAJ&hl=de&oi=ao
Curious to learn more? 🌐 Check it out for FREE while it lasts: doi.org/10.1017/9781...
Thank you to my co-authors,
@cambridgeup.bsky.social
Element Series editor
@snsoroka.bsky.social , and everyone else for reading!!!
Social Media Democracy Mirage
Cambridge Core - Politics: General Interest - Social Media Democracy Mirage
cambridge.org
November 20, 2024 at 6:04 PM
As observed in 2024 US elections, social media enables a participatory democracy but struggles to foster an informed one. It's a space for amplifying beliefs but often lacks the depth needed for meaningful political understanding. This paradox impacts liberal democracies today.
November 20, 2024 at 6:03 PM
Our findings, based on 500+ studies and 4 US survey datasets (2009–2019), show a troubling trend:
People engage in political activities online (protests, discussions) but lack the critical info to make informed decisions. Is participation enough without knowledge?
November 20, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Over two decades of research (2000–2020) show a paradox:
📈 Social media boosts political participation, people are engaging more online and offline.
📉 But it doesn't significantly improve political knowledge, and may even hinder it.
We call it the Social Media Democracy Mirage
November 20, 2024 at 6:01 PM