Social Media and Public Opinion

Social media does much to influence public opinion. This can be good--and bad.

On the plus side, social media allows us to find the village we belong to. On the minus side, social media polarizes us. It’s the old “double-edged sword" scenario—the very medium that allows us to find a global family we can relate to also allows us to more easily turn our backs on and ignore all others we don’t relate to, or agree with, simply by ignoring their views. This can breed a terminal case of groupthink in which we refuse to consider all points of view outside that of our village. And we can see this very thing happen every day.

Social media plays a big role in fostering social change. There are those who credit social media for fueling the advancement of gay marriage, or at least the use of social media to create the network necessary to see the changes we are now seeing. (Click here to see The Atlantic article.)

In fact, social media appears to the ideal tool to facilitate social change. Surveys suggest the same-sex marriage supporters use social media twice as much as non-supporters to share their views. And it’s obvious that they are gaining ground across the U.S.

This PBS article credits social media with uniting same-sex marriage supporters. And no one can discount the value of unity.

I think these trends show technological determinism at work, for it's obvious that our technology is driving a major shift in both social and cultural contexts.

More importantly, at least to my mind, is the fact that social media gives a platform and a voice to people whose opinions would otherwise be marginalized and lost in the noise of the public opinion arena.

Case in point: without social media I would never had heard the story of Robert Oscar Lopez. He was raised by two “moms,” and is in a unique position to offer a child’s perspective on growing up without a father figure. You can find the full essay here.

Lopez explains that his stance has been marginalized for forty-one years because he is a bisexual male raised by lesbian mothers, who is in a committed heterosexual relationship—which includes children he fathered—and he is a conservative. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s quite a combination. And I’m also sure you’ll agree his story needs to not only be told, but it also needs to be heard. And social media allows this to happen.

Social media also introduced me to Doug Mainwaring, a gay man who supports same-sex civil unions, but opposes same-sex marriages. Social media gives him a platform, a soapbox, if you will, a chance to get his voice heard. You can "hear" his voice by clicking here.

The medium does have a social effect. For without social media, none of these voices would be so readily available to the masses. And all voices need to be heard, just as all voices need to be weighed. Even our Supreme Court admits there isn’t much data on the consequences this issue could have on our society as a whole.

We do need to get past the tendency to allow social media to polarize us. While it’s good to find a global village of people who are most like us, we mustn’t allow ourselves to become like the China of old, and build a wall around our village to keep our enemies out. For if we do, we will also keep future friends away, along with innovations and improvements, and we will become stagnant. And when that happens, growing ceases, and dying begins.