SUNY Old Westbury’s Politics Economics and Law Club brought pizza and politics together on Tuesday, February 6. The discussion focused on political polarization and media bias with Andrew Mattson, a faculty member from American Studies, and more than thirty hungry students.
Is the world more divided than ever? Is social media to blame for the abruptly changing political climate?
Professor Mattson pointed out that “the world was becoming networked well before the internet.” A surge of communication and networking resulted from railways, telegraph lines, and mass-circulated papers. It is undeniable that the internet has accelerated the speed and quantity of communication, but social media for polarization could be inaccurate, since our divisions may predate even the invention of the printing press.
Social media isn’t making matters any better. Are users of platforms like YouTube, Twitter/X, and Facebook trapped in filter bubbles that limit what they see? Algorithms make it incredibly easy for social media users to receive content similar to what they have already viewed.
There is a profit motive behind the creation of these algorithms; they ensure users keep using their platform so they can be shown advertisements based on the data gathered about each user. Algorithms create echo chambers where the user receives content on their social media feed, which only reinforces their own opinions without any dissenting voices to challenge their views. This may be a common cause of ignorance for many social media users; despite having endless information at their fingertips, they’re shown only what they want to see.
Political divisions caused by social media have led to a fixation on identity, which leads to tribalism among political parties. According to a Washington Post article shared during the discussion, reporter Joel Achenbach says, “Our politics tend to be more emotional now. Policy preferences are increasingly likely to be entangled with a visceral dislike of the opposition. The newly embraced academic term for this is ‘affective polarization.’”
As affective polarization increases, so does the divide between the extremes of the political spectrum. Many who identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats are now describing the other as problematic and evil.
The PEL Club’s “Pizza & Politics,” event was a friendly, open dialogue about how social media can polarize partisans and the aftermath of this accelerated communication for our democracy.
