The Tribalization of Social Media: What Approach Will Shape Our Worldview?
The Tribalization of Social Media: What Approach Will Shape Our Worldview?
In previous research, I have discussed the challenges of censorship in social media platforms. While the consensus believes that horrific or violent statements have no right to be published, there are many fringe opinions that are banned based on the debatable, sometimes political views of the social media platform censors. To date, there have been no easy solutions to this problem that would satisfy the preponderance of media viewers.
Empowering Users: Self-Censorship on Social Media Platforms
What I propose is to let the social media platforms publish whatever their base wants to publish uncensored (except for those items mentioned that clearly should be kept off any platform). Instead, I said that social media should offer filters that follow the beliefs of their subscribers and that the information they would then view would be more in line with what they believe should be published.
The social media platform could offer a default filter that follows today’s censorship practices, but a religious organization could offer a different filter. The practice equates to self-censoring over platform censoring.
In discussions with fellow analyst Betsy Burton, I have evolved some of the terminology for this idea. If we look at news magazines and papers today, they look at the mass of information that arises every day and decide what to publish and how to cast each story. The staff who perform this function are called editors. And their subscribers are those who believe their filtering of the news fits their belief system.
So I have decided to change my terminology from filtering to editing. And the censors at social media sites are effectively editors albeit in a more limited way than the newspaper editors but nonetheless editors. They let be published what they find acceptable through content view and fact checking, but do not perform content selection and story assignment.
In my view, a social media platform would then have multiple editors on their content, supplying content filtered according to their beliefs.
Social Media Tribalism: The Rise of Echo Chambers and Filter Bubbles
Recently we saw some 2 million users leave the X platform for Bluesky platform. It has been reported that many of these users left because of Elon Musk’s association with President-elect Trump. This fact supports what I have said above but takes a different approach than I have suggested, namely that the filters on information come from a splintering of platforms run by owners with different belief systems. This mirrors what has happened in traditional print publishing. We call this the “tribalization” of social media.
When users increasingly siloed into echo chambers that reflect and reinforce their existing beliefs there are profound implications for how we perceive the world, engage in discourse, and make informed decisions. Social media algorithms are designed to show users content they are likely to engage with. This often leads to a “filter bubble” effect, where users are primarily exposed to content that aligns with their existing views.
People tend to connect with others who share similar interests, backgrounds, and beliefs. This natural tendency is amplified on social media, where users can easily curate their online communities. We are naturally drawn to information that confirms our existing beliefs and tend to dismiss or ignore information that challenges them. Social media algorithms often cater to this bias.
The Limits of Social Media Tribalism
There are serious consequences of social media tribalization including:
- polarization including a lack of exposure to diverse perspectives can lead to increased polarization and political extremism
- misinformation leading to breeding grounds for misinformation and conspiracy theories, as users are less likely to encounter fact-checking or opposing viewpoints and
- an erosion of trust through the constant reinforcement of existing beliefs can lead to a distrust of outside sources of information, including mainstream media and experts.
However there are opposing factors that may prevent this from happening. Users want a large base of users AND they want their belief system to be endemic to the platform. Unfortunately they are incompatible. A short time ago, Meta’s Threads attempted to cull the X user base. Initially they cited millions of adoptees, but eventually those numbers reverted back to previous platforms as the allure of a large contact community overwhelmed the need to separate from the previous platform.
The Botton Line
The tribalization of social media is a complex issue with far-reaching implications for our society. Addressing this challenge will require a multi-faceted approach involving social media platforms, policymakers, educators, and individual users. A censorship approach that meets the needs of most will be difficult to both please subscribers while mitigating its potential for harm.
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