Lead: From the Arab Spring to the Ice Bucket Challenge, social media is an effective communication tool. But the latest survey found that social media is actually suppress the diversity of opinions, which weakened the political participation of the people, especially people think that their views are not gregarious.
From the "Arab Spring" to "Ice Bucket Challenge", the Internet may have been an effective tool for activists and organizers in many events. But the latest data show that, on the whole, the Internet has weakened rather than increasing the political participation of people.
Twitter and Facebook and other social media actually suppress the diversity of opinions, but also inhibits people discuss public affairs. Pew Research Center (Pew Research Center) and Rutgers (Rutgers University) researchers published Tuesday, said social media reduces the possibility of people to express their views, especially when they think that their views and different friends time.
The researchers also found that, compared with others, the world often use social media online under, the more reluctant to express different opinions.
So, as people around yourself only with their similar views, but do not want to put forward a different view of people, the Internet is increasing polarization in American public views. Internet companies by adjusting the algorithm, to show us more similar to us who publish content, then this amplified effect.
"Using social media people, he discovered a new way to participate in politics, but political participation and political discussions are very different," one of the authors of this article, an associate professor of Communication Studies at Rutgers University Keith N Hampton (Keith N. Hampton) said, "people are less inclined to express their views, but also do not want to stand in contact with different people. in our democratic system, is expected to see such contacts."
The researchers intend to explore the impact of the Internet on the so-called "spiral of silence" in. The theory is that when people think their views with friends, family or co-workers is not the same, to express their views on the wishes will be reduced. Many people believe that the Internet will make this concept completely disappeared, because it allows more disparate people together, and even sound propagation minorities.
However, researchers found that the Internet is the next line reflects the world. Offline world, people will always be attracted like-minded friends, away from the people to express different opinions. (So have said nothing about the religious or political ritual at the table.)
And the Internet in some way to deepen this differentiation. It makes people easy to read only news and views from people of their own identity. In many cases, people do not even have to make that choice themselves. Twitter last week said it will begin to show some of their users who are not following the news release, as long as they focus on the user, there are enough people that message collection. On Monday, Facebook said it would hide on the user's page title belonging to certain types of reports. At the same time, users of the online bad people to express their views harassment has become a way to make social networking sites and users are deeply headache.
The researchers say humans have a strong desire to be recognized others, continue to interpret the various signals to determine whether people identify themselves. Active social media users to get more such signals - such as status updates, people share news and photos of their daily lives - and therefore more and more reluctant to express their views.
In order to complete the report, researchers surveyed some views on the leaker Edward Snowden (Edward Snowden) to expose the US National Security Agency (National Security Agency, referred to as the NSA) to monitor the project, the Americans on this issue there are basically number two views, and hold two views fairly.
Most of the respondents said they are willing to discuss the issue on the table of government surveillance programs with family and friends in the community are willing to do a party or workplace. Most people said that the only thing they do not want to discuss this topic on Facebook and Twitter. And several times a day people log on Facebook, claiming willing probability in reality conversation with a friend to comment on the matter, compared with others will be lower by half.
However, if Facebook users think that they have friends on the site agreed their position, the possibility of their participation in discussions on Facebook will increase 1.9 times. Whether for or against the government to monitor the project, and if the attitude is very strong, willing to discuss the possibility of Facebook's participation will increase 2.4 times. Interestingly, less educated people are more likely to speak out on Facebook, and people affected by a higher level of education, are more inclined to remain silent on Facebook, while his family or friends to express their views.
The study also found that, although a lot of people say that social media is becoming a discovery platform and discussion of news events, but most people say they are through television and radio news that the NSA leak, while Facebook and Twitter become a source of possibility Min.
These findings are limitations because the researchers only studied a news event. But we can think of another controversial public events people pile recent online discussion - Missouri Ferguson protests. In the post you read on Twitter and Facebook, how many like-minded with you, how many different points of view, and how much you could comment on it?
(From "New York Times", author: CLAIRE CAIN MILLER)
The entire contents of a user on Baidu know daily newspaper published a third party is strictly prohibited reproduced. Any third party to use the content, you must contact Baidu know daily zhidaoribao@baidu.com, obtain written authorization to use the content and in the manner prescribed.
Article Source: Baidu know daily (http://zhidao.baidu.com/daily)
Original link: http: //zhidao.baidu.com/daily/view id = 874?