LET’S TALK ABOUT CLASS.
In our last blog we looked at social media and young people. Now, we’re moving our social media discussion to ideas of class. This blog was fascinating to write because it became apparent there was a gap in literature that focused on the intersection of class, social media, and politics – so it’s up to us to explore this!
This blog will discuss how social media recreates and exacerbates inequalities within political engagement rather than creating a democratic space.
Most inequality research on blogging and digital production has focused on race and ethnicity, not class (Schradie, 2012). BUT! As we covered in our last blog, social media impacts all areas.
Firstly, it’s important to understand class inequalities within politics. Political activity occurs within a social context, so, class impacts how likely a person is to get involved politically (Schradie, 2012). We see this in the research of Hoskins, who showed that disadvantaged young people are less likely to get involved in voluntary political activities because they have less access to ways of learning about political engagement. This means those from disadvantaged backgrounds rarely have their views represented and feel politically disengaged (Hoskins, 2017).
This is also passed on generationally, if your parents reject political engagement often you will too! Those of higher social class are found to be more engaged in traditional politics (Gibson, 2005). This is demonstrated in this graph which shows higher classes are more likely to vote (IPSOS, 2017).
Some people argue that social media allows for more equality with regards to class. Online platforms are a crucial way of starting campaigns, engaging people in politics and have a ‘real world’ impact in changing legislation and conversations.
Think about it. Climate Strikes, Black Lives Matter and Me Too. I’m sure you can think of more – leave any you can think of in the comments!
Social media acts as a means of mobilising people politically. However, it’s important to acknowledge when looking at social media and politics the dangers of fake news being spread online (Rose, 2017). Politics has provided a ‘fertile ground’ for fake news, and the ease of sharing of ideas has only caused it to grow (Rose, 2017). You can see this currently within the alleged connection between 5G and Covid-19 that’s been spread online despite not being backed up by scientists (BBC, 2020). Fake news makes it harder for people to access and become involved with politics.
While traditional media is dominated by higher classes (Schradie, 2012), social media is accessible to most. Therefore, I had initially assumed that this made it a democratic platform, where all classes had equal opportunity to have their political opinions heard.
For example, blogs – a medium we’re all familiar with! Schradie talks of how theorists describe blogs as a critical platform for multiple participants. A critical platform means there’s space for debate and the more participants the more views, ideas and classes are represented. According to Gilmor et al. this leads to a far more democratic system than traditional media which a few people have a monopoly over (Schradie, 2012).
However, Hindman critiques blogging and social media as a tool because the voices of the elite continue to overshadow others (Hindman, 2009).
‘The ideals of digital democracy have been tempered by findings of socioeconomic inequality’ (Schradie, 2012:555)
Hindman reports, ‘Of the top ten blogs, eight are run by people who have attended an elite institution of higher education’ (Hindman, 2009). It is important particularly within politics to pay attention to the voices which are heard. Who’s political opinion is being pushed over social media? It becomes clear that social media is perhaps not a democratic platform. We should all have an equal say – but do we?
Amna says that there are different forms of political engagement, for example activism is more likely to be conducted online as opposed to electoral politics. Sometimes people can choose to partake in only one form of engagement (Amna, 2013). Social media has opened an entirely new way of being political, and as a result, celebrities have been using social media as a means of asserting their own political agenda. Nisbett talks about this and the online movement of #Grime4Corbyn, describing it as an endorsement from a ‘working-class hero’ (Nisbett, 2016). It is true however, that celebrities are part of a group who have the most say on social media and are also generally a part of higher classes. Therefore, we see class inequalities repeated in social media as they are in most areas.
If elite voices of the ruling classes and celebrities are dominating as we’ve explored, then marginalised voices are drowned out. As explored in my previous blog, politicians, journalists, and the public increasingly turn to online content to understand what matters to the public and to communicate their ideas. Therefore, issues which matter to the working-class are being pushed to the side again and again.
To end on a positive note, some researchers hope for a change, claiming inequalities within politics and social media will even out (Schradie, 2010).
You can help by being more aware that you may only be hearing the agenda of the ruling classes online – make informed decisions!
Bibliography
Amnå, E. and Ekman, J., (2013), 6(2), Standby citizens: diverse faces of political passivity. European Political Science Review, pp. 1 -21, DOI: 10.1017/S175577391300009X
BBC (2020), Coronavirus: Scientists brand 5G claims ‘complete rubbish’. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/52168096 (Accessed: 20/04/2020)
Gibson, R.K., Lusoli, W. and Ward, S., 2005. Online participation in the UK: Testing a ‘contextualised ‘model of Internet effects. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 7(4), pp.561-583.
Hindman, M., 2008. The myth of digital democracy. Princeton University Press.
Hoskins, B., Janmaat, J.G. and Melis, G., 2017. Tackling inequalities in political socialisation: A systematic analysis of access to and mitigation effects of learning citizenship at school. Social science research, 68, pp.88-101.
Nisbett, G.S. and DeWalt, C.C., 2016. Exploring the influence of celebrities in politics: A focus group study of young voters. Atlantic journal of communication, 24(3), pp.144-156.
Rose, J., 2017. Brexit, Trump, and post-truth politics.
Schradie, J., 2012. The trend of class, race, and ethnicity in social media inequality: Who still cannot afford to blog? Information, Communication & Society, 15(4), pp.555-571.
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