The answer, simply put, is absolutely not. While I do sincerely apologise for bursting your bubble of positivity, it is now my pleasure to dishearten your faith in planet Earth. So with your morning espresso in your left hand and an article detailing the world’s impending doom in your right, I shall begin.
Firstly, we must look at how social media sites such as Twitter (or X), Instagram, and Facebook have birthed an era of tunnel vision. Many right wingers view those on the left as ultra-woke communists who would likely accept someone identifying as a carrot, while much of the left view the right as vicious racists bearing nazi-like ideologies. Both of these perceptions are often untrue and thus damage the ability for these groups to feel heard - social media is to blame for this.
You see, social media constantly pumps the often misleading narratives of both these viewpoints, varying on the political opinions of account holders, thus reinforcing their views and disregarding opposing and often valuable opinions. In actuality, typically those on the left call for a more accepting society that is open to the changes that the passing of time naturally demands, while many on the right simply wish for the preservation of values, traditions or perhaps a way of life that appears to them undermined by the government of today.
Politics is now more nasty, misleading, and personal than ever.
This isn’t a football match between rivals, the faith of democracy as a whole is embedded in our innate ability to compromise with those who think differently to create outcomes that can satisfy all facets of society. Social media, in essence, inflames the already immovable stubbornness of humanity. Politics is now more nasty, misleading, and personal than ever.
For something that was created for a haven of individual expression, social media has instead become a playground for imitation and fake perfection. Young people look to perfect bodies and faces through the works of filters and surgery and grow to believe that is what beauty is. We gaze at the flaunting of tasteless purchases and superficial perfection and believe that is where value comes from, but above all, the mass polarisation of political views is the most threatening aspect of social media. Simply because while the creation of social media gave many a voice, it disregarded our ears.
In summary, social media hasn’t killed us, it’s just made us less tolerant. We’ve stopped looking left and right at the crossroads of the world around us. Instead we look down at our phones, now and for the foreseeable future.