Study confirms: Digital media threaten established democracies in particular
Three years ago, a research group determined on the basis of numerous studies that digital media harm democracy. This has now been verified.
(Image: ultramansk/Shutterstock.com)
Social media, group chats in messengers, comment columns and other digital media have a predominantly negative influence on democratic processes. This result of a three-year-old analysis has now been confirmed in a replication study using updated data, reports the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB). According to the study, digital media do have positive effects, but the negatives outweigh the positives. They exacerbate polarization, increase mistrust in democratic institutions and the media and promote the spread of misinformation. The associated emotional devaluation of those who think differently and the fragmentation of social discourse are also dangerous.
Do not stifle the potential of digital media
For the original research, the team led by computational social scient ist Philipp Lorenz-Spreen evaluated over 500 studies and determined that digital media can fuel polarization and populism – especially in established democracies –. It was found, for example, that users of social media tend to no longer actively seek information because "they assume that important information will reach them automatically". It was also shown that the use of digital media damages trust in democratic institutions and traditional media and that "echo chambers" actually form in social networks.
Videos by heise
In order to verify the result, researchers from Tongji University, the University of Cambridge and Duke University "systematically replicated" the methodology of the original study using data up to March 2024. This has not changed the result, the MPIB now explains. This means that there is now sufficient evidence for the central statement of the study to "take the challenges seriously and develop strategies to minimize the risks", says co-author Ralph Hertwig from the MPIB. However, the democratic potential of digital media must be protected in the best possible way.
With reference to this potential, the expert points to the part of the study that has now been confirmed, which includes the positive observations. For example, people who use digital media are more likely to express themselves politically, have access to a wide range of information, can express themselves freely and have a higher average level of political knowledge. However, it is not yet clear whether this is the result of their use. What exactly the use of digital media does to people in this respect urgently needs to be researched, says Lisa Oswald, who was also involved in the work. The replication study is available online.
(mho)
