How Social Media Change People's Opinions

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Note: See this 2020 post for more recent information on social media changing people'due south views.

For most Americans, exposure to unlike content and ideas on social media has not caused them to change their opinions. But a modest share of the public – 14% – say they take changed their views about a political or social consequence in the by year because of something they saw on social media, according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted May 29-June 11.

Although it'south unclear what bug people changed their views about, within the past year a diversity of social and political bug – from the #MeToo movement to #BlackLivesMatter and #MAGA – accept been discussed on social media.

Sure groups, peculiarly young men, are more probable than others to say they've modified their views because of social media. Around iii-in-ten men ages 18 to 29 (29%) say their views on a political or social issue inverse in the past year due to social media. This is roughly twice the share saying this among all Americans and more than double the shares amid men and women ages 30 and older (12% and 11%, respectively).

There are too differences by race and ethnicity, co-ordinate to the new survey. Around i-in-five black (19%) and Hispanic (22%) Americans say their views changed due to social media, compared with 11% of whites.

Social media prompted views to change more amidst Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (17%) than among Republicans and Republican leaners (nine%). Within these party groups, there are likewise some differences by gender, at to the lowest degree among Democrats. Men who are Democrats or lean Autonomous (21%) are more probable than their female counterparts (xiv%) to say they've inverse their minds. However, equal shares of Republican and Republican-leaning men and women say the same (9% each).

Previous survey work with slightly different question wording showed similar overall partisan differences. In 2016, the Center asked social media users whether they had "always modified" their views about a political or social event considering of something they saw on social media. Two-in-ten said yes and 79% said no, with more Democrats and Democratic leaners than Republicans and Republican leaners maxim they had modified views.

Although nigh people have not changed their views on a political or social upshot in the by twelvemonth because of social media, those who have also tend to place a high level of personal importance on social media as a tool for personal political date and activism. Among all social media users, people who changed their views on an effect are much more than probable than those who didn't to say such sites are important when information technology comes to getting involved with political or social issues important to them (63% vs. 35%) or finding others who share their views about important issues (67% vs. 38%). Just over one-half whose views changed (56%) say social media is personally of import in providing a venue to express their political opinions, compared with a tertiary of social media users who have not inverse a view in the past twelvemonth (33%).

While Americans who haven't changed their views put less personal importance in social media, majorities run into these platforms as helping give a vocalisation to underrepresented groups; highlighting important issues that might otherwise go unnoticed; or helping hold powerful people accountable for their actions. Those who have inverse a view thanks to social media are somewhat more probable to agree that these statements describe social media well. At the same fourth dimension, majorities in both camps also agree that social media distracts people from problems that are truly important or makes people think they are making a divergence when they actually aren't.

Note: Encounter full topline results and methodology here (PDF).

Kristen Bialik is a former research assistant at Pew Research Center.

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