Cultural historian examines social media’s role in democracy – The Cougar

Cultural historian and media scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan delivered a lecture titled “Antisocial Media” at the M.D. Anderson Library’s Rockwell Pavilion on Feb. 5. The lecture was the final event in the Hobby School of Public Affairs series “Rebooting Our Relationship with Tech” and focused on how social media undermines democracy and disconnects the public.

Vaidhyanathan opened by discussing how the years between 2008 and 2012 marked a turning point in technology, driven by heavy investment and the rapid globalization of social media platforms.

This shift led to increased use of platforms such as Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, particularly among young adults. More than a decade later, social media remains a dominant presence among college students. However, Vaidhyanathan argued that its influence has ultimately harmed democratic engagement.

He said social media does not truly empower the public or provide a meaningful platform to challenge authoritarian governments.

“Social media empowerment was an illusion, but it was widely held and adopted,” Vaidhyanathan said. “The United States secretary of state at the time, Hillary Clinton, went around the world proclaiming that the United States supported internet freedom because it would liberate the world.”

Vaidhyanathan described how social media companies design algorithms to increase user engagement by promoting content that triggers strong emotional reactions. He said this prioritization encourages emotional responses over thoughtful discussion and, over time, weakens meaningful connections among users.

As a result, he argued, critical conversations surrounding democracy, such as climate change, immigration and infectious diseases, are pushed aside in favor of more superficial discourse. This shift limits the public’s ability to collectively address major societal challenges.

“There’s no space on social media for the serious, the deep, the contemplative,” Vaidhyanathan said. “We need all that stuff, just like we need the occasional ice cream or potato chips, but we also need our broccoli. These systems have no space for broccoli. It’s all ice cream and potato chips.”

To conclude the lecture, Vaidhyanathan warned that the growing presence of artificial intelligence in social and intellectual spaces will further intensify these issues. He urged audience members to be more mindful of how they engage with online content and emphasized education as a key defense of democracy.

“We must keep defending the principle that we need the widest range of voices, defending its research and defending its teaching,” Vaidhyanathan said. “We should be inviting more voices and putting more resources into them.”

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