The Future of Social Media

It’s difficult to determine what the future of social media will look like because it’s really reliant on several factors. If there continues to be a lack of regulations on social platforms, the future looks grim. Currently, fake news and content that only confirms existing biases are widespread on platforms — and the consequences of this are quite dire. We see this especially in the political realm, where social media polarizes people’s stance on candidates to a new extreme. Social media also played a large part in COVID-19 misinformation, which led to thousands of deaths. The events social media has played a devastating role in due to a lack of regulations is saddening, and unless tech giants and/or the government take a stance against this source of misinformation, it’s only going to get worse.

If regulations are imposed, the future of social media will look a lot more bright. Despite social media playing a factor in lower self-esteem, anxiety, and depression (specifically in a younger demographic) it also connects us with people from across the globe, allows us to be creative, and keeps us informed — well, sometimes. With new regulations, social media can keep people informed with accurate information which has the power to save lives. Although I can see why tech giants see regulations as a freedom of speech violation, the misinformation these platforms propagate brainwash individuals, causing serious implications. It’s not about limiting what people say on platforms, but limiting how many times these messages are circulating(ex: showing up in your “for you” page.) If they have the potential to cause immediate harm, then they should be deleted. Just as yelling “FIRE” in a public space is illegal when there is no actual fire, the same rules should apply to social media — misinformation can kill.

Overall, the future of social media is up in the air. The only thing we as a society can do is demand change. Demanding change from the private sector may be more difficult, as they don’t have a lot of incentives to regulate social. However, demanding change from government actors may be more effective as this issue has only become more salient in recent years. Congress is finally beginning to take social media regulations more seriously, and we should continue to hold them accountable for change.