Democracy

Liz Wolfe | 2.27.2024 9:30 AM

America is an outlier: New polling by the Pew Research Center indicates that the U.S. is a global outlier when it comes to majority attitudes toward social media.

"People in emerging economies are particularly likely to say social media has advanced their democracy," reports Pew. "Assessments are especially positive in Nigeria and Mexico, where nearly eight-in-ten (77% each) say social media has had a positive effect on democracy."

In other places, like Poland, "86% of adults under 40 say social media has benefited democracy in their country, compared with 56% of those ages 40 and older." Younger people tend to be more likely to report positive perceptions of social media's value for democracy, ditto with the richer and more educated.

Overall, large shares of respondents say they believe social media has been beneficial to democracy—76 percent of Singaporeans, 74 percent of Indians, 68 percent of South Africans, 65 percent of Israelis, and 63 percent of Argentines—while respondents in the U.S. largely disagree, with 64 percent saying "social media has been more of a bad thing for democracy in their country"........

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