Analysis of the Impact of Social Media on Social Dynamic

Abstract

In recent times, the influence of social media has extended beyond the digital realm and has become an integral part of peoples daily lives. This is particularly evident among young individuals, who dedicate a significant amount of time to social media platforms for communication purposes. Therefore, it is plausible that social media can be manipulated, whether maliciously or benevolently, to intentionally disseminate some alluring and deceptive news, controlling and affecting social dynamics. In this paper, the primary focus will be on exploring the various methods----such as government intervention or echo chamber---- through which social media can be manipulated to shape and influence peoples attitudes and beliefs. Additionally, the examination will extend to how these influences extend beyond the digital realm and impact individuals in their real lives. The primary research method of this paper will be to analyze other scholarly articles, trying to combine them together to explain such a phenomenon; the main subject of this paper is the interconnected sphere between social media (information initiator), the medium (information carriers), and the viewers (information recipients, social bots). Furthermore, this paper has found that peoples opinions can be swayed by two factors: exposure effect and polarization. In the former one, when individuals are exposed to instigating or deceptive news, their opinions can be influenced to a certain degree, even if they possess the ability to discern the accuracy of the information. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the existence of echo chambers, particularly in online environments. The polarization is facilitated by the echo chamberonline viewers will receive information that caters to their own beliefswhich makes their opinions more extreme. As a consequence, this can contribute to the adoption of irrational decision-making processes.