More than half of all Americans – 57% – say misinformation has affected social media … [+]
According to new information from one A recent survey conducted by the National Capital Area United Way, More than half of all Americans – 57% – say misinformation on social media has affected their level of empathy. In addition, 27% of respondents added that they even changed because of the sympathetic burnout from which they received their news.
In addition to General Z, respondents of each generation said that Facebook is the social media app that contributes the most to their empathy burnout.
According to researchers, empathy burns out when “a person spends a lot of their energy on a regular basis – mentally, physically, emotionally – to take care of others in a way that makes them feel tired of themselves.” Many may relate to those feelings.
Nedelka Phillips, senior vice president for marketing and fundraising at the United Way NCA, explained, “We question the news events about their flare-up, the characteristics of empathy fatigue, and the strategies they have to deal with for relief.” “More than half of Americans say that misinformation on social media has affected their level of empathy.”
The fact that so many people now rely on social media as a news source is certainly exacerbating the problem – because it is so full of misinformation and even confusion.
“QAnon, for example, creates a force of people who deeply believe lies and fight aggressively to make sure their unbelievable truths are credible,” advises Rob Enderley, a technology analyst at the Anderleys Group.
“This is creating a level of conflict that is very worrying because the foundations under these untruths are weak and it creates insecurity with their proponents and this insecurity is probably the basis for the growing anger and violence when these beliefs are properly validated.” The challenge, “Anderley warned. “Social media, and Facebook in particular, is driving a world focused on revenue that I suspect anyone working in this company wants to live with and this is a serious problem because it works against the natural tendency of the world to be more acceptable and collaborative. Doing so over time. “
Perhaps today, thanks to social media, you can often fool a lot of people – and platforms are benefiting from it.
“In fact, social media is helping to raise revenue with the cost of creating a more hostile and insecure world, not to achieve a broader goal.” “As a result, Facebook and other services that knowingly allow this abuse to maximize short-term revenue and profits are becoming an existential risk for the human race that will probably end badly for both our nation and organizations like Facebook.”
What happened to social?
An increasingly missing element of “social media” is the social aspect. Instead, the platforms have become echo chambers of opinion.
“The evolution of technology has always had unintended consequences. Interestingly, a medium that started out as a force to be reckoned with more socially – now often seems to be leaning towards the ‘dark side,’ and a platform is antisocial.” Says Susan Schreiner of C4 Trends. “It has become a hotbed of hatred, fear and confusion. Today, social media reflects a growing obesity in the way people communicate with each other personally. It seems that the dark side of people is hidden behind the social media screen.”
While political instability and the lack of colleges, epidemics and fears of uncertainty are contributing factors – social media makes it easier to attack someone or act as a threat without responsibility or consequences, Schreiner warned.
“There is a rebellion against honor – and ‘I can disagree, but do it politely’,” he advised.
Politeness is definitely missing on most social media exchanges.
“Social media allows narcissism and the worst human instincts and traits to just ‘hang-out’ without worrying about others,” Schreiner added. “Social media has allowed ‘I’ and ‘I’ to take precedence over ‘us’ and to consider or respect the feelings or attitudes of others.”
Even with all the negativity on social media, there is still hope to be optimistic but it will work.
“Just clicking on Facebook or Twitter and blindly accepting what is being said is not enough. In the age of broadcasting this is not the case when one can rely on three-TV channels and authorities like Walter Cronkite,” Schreiner noted.
“At some level it comes down to ‘mob’ vs. personal interaction. It’s a tabloid title vs. New York Times Or The Washington Post“We have seen a lot of intimidation during the epidemic, but we have also seen generosity among strangers on social media – with members of the surrounding group helping each other or members of certain Facebook groups giving them emotional support,” he warned. Alone. “
