By Sophia Doan
While examining the current political state of America, one stark eye-catcher is the intense divide between political parties. More than ever before, the United States has become divided between ideologies.
(sites.bu.edu).
On nearly every politics-based television station, the apparent attack of opposing parties and ideologies doesn’t even disguise itself any longer. While debates between presidential candidates used to follow bases of respect and honor, the practice of slandering rivaling candidates has begun to become normalized in the United States. An obvious correlation can be found between the rise of social media technology and the polarization of the United States. According to a research paper published on the topic by Boston University, “partisans tend to view each other negatively because polarized media weaponizes the differences between political and social groups instead of emphasizing commonalities” (sites.bu.edu). As algorithms grow more and more complex, social media consumers are disproportionally exposed to content from individuals who have similar political stances. According to a study conducted on the subject: “exposure to like-minded arguments lead to stronger political polarization than exposure to opposing arguments” (sciencedirect.com).
Although party commitment has always played a role in the political process of the United States, social media exposes younger generations to only one point of view. After a few videos liked agreeing with one party or candidate, social media algorithms almost solely display content aligning with the videos. GenZ has proven to be a chronically online generation, consuming most news from social media websites such as TikTok or Instagram. As algorithms grow increasingly complex and tailored towards specific interests, the issue of political polarization will only grow.
One easy way to combat becoming only exposed to one point of view is to find news platforms from every angle, prioritizing consuming left and right leaning media. When looking into major political stories or issues, finding unbiased, trustworthy sources will lead you to the right content more than scrolling through your “for you” page.