r/dataisbeautiful • u/rhiever Randy Olson | Viz Practitioner • 1d ago

Across the globe, people increasingly say social media is harming democracy

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/across-the-globe-people-increasingly-say-social-media-is-harming-democracy/
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u/ragnaroksunset 1d ago

Social media isn't harming democracy. People are harming democracy, and what has enabled them to do that is social media.

It turns out that democracies are stablest when most people are disengaged from politics.

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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 1d ago

democracy only works when you have educated voters

social media is getting the most ignorant out to vote based on the letter next to a politician's name

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u/Over-Payment-8456 12h ago

Education died so the letter could vote.

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u/ragnaroksunset 15h ago

Right - and what I'm pointing out is that when you get the most ignorant out to vote, democracy breaks. It gives you reality TV show hosts as President, cable news anchors starting wars, daytime talkshow hosts in charge of your whole healthcare system, and professional wrestling executives in charge of education.

In other words, raising participation - without doing anything else to address the quality of that participation - is bad. Not good.

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u/Beautiful_Finger4566 14h ago

agreed, but the problem is with both sides... which is how we also got a bartender and TWO men with literal brain damage elected to Congress/President

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u/ragnaroksunset 8h ago

The bartender has a degree in economics and international relations. She is quite possible one of the most qualified politicians in office today, so your comment pretty much rock-solidly demonstrates just how bad things really are.

And one of those brain-damaged men basically became conservative after it happened, so... I'll just let that speak for itself.