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The transformative power of social media in public policy decision-making

This essay explores the transformative power of social media in public policy decision-making. It evaluates how platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram impact public engagement through advocacy and agenda-setting. The paper further examines how social media has led to the democratization of information within the sphere of Political science. Social media has led to transparency, accountability, and citizen involvement in public policy development. The essay also addresses challenges such as misinformation and bias and how they can lead to polarization in decision-making. The essay uses the Vancouver formatting style.

December 15, 2024

* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.

The Transformative Power of Social Media in Public Policy Decision-Making

Student

Institution

Introduction

Social media has completely revolutionized how societies interact, coordinate

themselves, and even shape the decision-making matrices of the world. Starting with social

causes to global movements, social networking sites such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook

and Instagram have provided easier access to sharing information and also being able to

participate in societal issues. It remains a phenomenon that is apparent most in public policy

as seen in the use of social media interaction to make decisions affecting people’s lives. In the

past, decision making in public policy was a centralized procedure involving only

governments, institutions and specific groups of people. Conventional means of receiving

input was rather limited, and people’s input was more frequently received through official

channels, such as public hearings or petitions. However, the impending social media has

derailed these paradigms. It has revolutionized the way citizens engage with policymakers by

providing an online platform for discussion. Indeed, the use of social media as a means of

communication has been influenced by the timely and effective way it is used to reach the

intended audience, especially the oppressed section in decision-makers forums. Traditional

media has played an influential role in policy decision-making since it embraces the spirit of

democracy both socially and politically by advocating for views from the public against the

usually established authorities. But it also comes with considerable costs – fake news and the

establishment of like-minded bubbles.

Social media and its Function in improving Public Engagement

One of the main invaluable benefits of social media in reference to public policy is

that it is used to ensure that the relationship between the citizens and the policymakers is

realized. It provides a means through which one can be directly reached that eliminates other

forms of publicity, such as the media or political groups. The samples of social media include

but are not limited to, X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram, which allows

people to engage in civic conversations, present issues of concern, and even have an input in

legislation. For instance, in public participation, the governments hit social media as the

common channel for participation from the public. Policymakers also use these platforms to

post new developments or to explain policies taken to increase transparency and

accountability. This two-way interaction not only puts power in the hands of citizens but also

gives officials a real-time feel for what those citizens are thinking. Research findings from

the meta-analysis "Social Media Use for Public Policy Making Cycle" reveal that social

media significantly enhances public engagement by creating accessible platforms for

dialogue (3). More importantly, the study captures how various quotas, especially those who

hardly post their voices in standard policy formulation forums, utilize social media to air their

opinions and policy strategies. It could be said that there are quite a number of advantages of

this lately observed increase in public participation. The effectiveness of good decisions is

enhanced as the public is in a position to analyze the various decision-making procedures

undertaken by officials. Moreover, the signal faced by policymakers is higher when public

opinion is noticeable and timely. For instance, viral social media campaigns have led

governments to look into some of the needs that need to be met, thus revealing that the

platform is capable of creating actual social interaction among stakeholders.

Advocacy and agenda-setting on social media

It has become evident that social networks are a force that individuals and

organizations can use to create viral actions and establish public agendas through hashtags.

The use of social media to raise awareness of a particular cause, such as the #MeToo

movement or Global Climate Strikes, shows how SM can focus on one particular issue, bring

the ‘offline’ issue onto the online spher,e and bring pressure upon policy makers to respond to

the issue. These campaigns also act as a base on which groups organize purposes to be

achieved. As it connects users based on common interests, it builds individual concern to

movements that bring policy changes. Facebook’s posts become advocacy hashtags, while the

viral content of tweets makes the public debate and raises awareness for the marginalized

community. Insights from "Social Media and Public Policy: The two works “Theory and

Practice” illustrate that social networks adjust priorities increasing the focus on specific

subjects (2). The study goes further to point out that such platforms help activists and

ordinary citizens to drive attention to issues that rarely receive attention. The policymakers

have an understanding of the impact of social media. The nature of problems that go viral is

that they are easily incorporated into political programs because of their publicity and

apparent relevance. For instance, authorities may act more quickly on a topic trending on

social media if they want to support the public outcry. Social media also level the playing

field for advocacy since activists and influencers can champion marginalised voices without

much requirement.

The Democratization of Information And Policy Development

Social networks are also the toolbox to democratize information, making different

points of view and knowledge available all over the world. This democratization is

paramount for policy making since it allows citizens to share content that can be fed into

official policy formulation systems. Social media serve as library shelves with aggregates of

the society opinions to be generated on ideas, critiques, or even new solutions to existing

problems. The results presented in the Meta-Analysis of Social Media Use for Public Policy

show that social media is valuable as a source of information for shaping public discussions.

This is why the analysis demonstrates that the availability of the sites such as Twitter leads to

the accumulation of more elaborate knowledge and better involvement of individuals in

policy debates. Quite recently, the discussions related to legislation were influenced more by

citizen-generated content than ever before. Web link signatures, video clips, and statistics

collected with the help of the general public have all been used to address policy issues in

some capacity. Social media data are becoming more institutionalized as a part of

policy-making cycles, as a tool for researching urgent issues and assessing the impacts made.

This change is in line with the general tendencies of the so-called participatory governance,

under which citizens’ opinions are as equally important as the viewpoints of professionals.

With regards to the dynamics in policy-making particularly the decision-making process of

the authorities – social media has proved to be an influential tool in encouraging openness,

participatory processes, and it has indeed become innovative in the decision-making process.

However, as subsequent sections will explain, their advantages must be viewed against

disadvantages such as promulgation of bad information and polarization.

Challenges and Risks of Social Media in Policy Decision-Making

The abundance of improper information is one of the essential concerns that social

media present when deciding on public policy. While we read more actively, misleading

hashtags can gain a lot of popularity in a short amount of time and manipulate people’s

perception of reality as well as policies based on misconceptions. For instance, in the

COVID-19 times, social platforms served as the primary sources of wrong information about

vaccines, which hindered the majority of people from getting vaccinated and, thus, distorted

the outcomes of public policies. These cases demonstrate how existence of different sources

of information can hamper decision making in certain ways. Elected officials are likely to be

forced to respond to issues created by fake news, which take priority over research-backed

approaches. This is made worse by the decentralized nature of social media which affords

cover and speed to fake news peddlers.

Social media also amplifies bias and makes society to be divided into different groups

where someone will only be fed with the information they hold throughout their beliefs. This,

in one way or another, poses hurdles to policymakers in reaching a common ground, which is

a vital part in the formation of policies. For example, arguments over climate change or gun

control always lead to people occupying two extreme zones on social media, therefore no

middle ground is reached. This must-read article on social media manipulation through

misinformation, bots ,and algorithmic biases was published in the International Journal of

Social Research and Policy (1). The study argues that the platforms are designed with the end

goal of gaining the attention of the users rather than responding to their needs accurately. This

creates a system in which fake or polarizing content flourishes. Therefore, digital literacy and

fact-checking mechanisms are key remedies for such risks. It is important to inform the users

on how to understand what is out there, how to filter the information, and make the right

decision. Moreover, social media doesn’t take enough responsibility by itsel,f introducing

strict fact-checking systems and suppressing fake news distribution.

Social Media as a Double-Edged Sword in Governance

Social networking has proved capable of raising the profile of disenfranchised groups.

The Black Lives Matter story is one of the exhibits of how these stations create opportunities

for oppressed people to advocate for changes. The latter has impacted policy transformations

like alteration of several cities’ police methods in America. The other advantage of social

media is that it puts so much pressure on policymakers. Sites like Twitter enable citizens to

observe and comment on government activities on a real-time basis and thus making the

leaders answerable for their actions. Government engagement via social media causes the

officials to expose their policies and bring them into conformity with the preferences of the

people. However, the incorporation of social media in governance has its pull. Basically,

good policy requires a balance between what the citizens want and what the experts deem to

be appropriate. Leaning heavily on social media sentiment may lead to more populist

decision-making because most people will support the decision that will gain them populist

approval. Also, the number of opinions on the Internet can still mobilize traditional

governance structures and make the process of decision-making difficult.

Conclusion

Over the years, social media has become a determining factor for policy making

involving the public and ensuring accountability. Albeit well beyond doubt, it brings

emergent problems, including, but not limited to, misinformation and polarization, which

should be solved to unleash the opportunity that lies beneath it. The consideration of social

media affecting public policy is not to be underestimated. Through their facilitation of

inclusion and dissemination of information, these technological applications can form a

foundation for more representative leadership. However achieving this requires cooperation

from both the policymakers and the public in general and each party in particular to be

responsible and willing to take on the responsibilities expected of them by the other. While

turning people to the opportunities of using social media to create positive changes and at the

same time, they should consider the risks in realizing the opportunity. The same must be

admitted to citizens in the sense that they are also responsible for creating a better world on

the Internet by actively involving themselves in searching for facts and increasingly seeking

to end cynical manipulations of political leaders in social networks. Together, they can

harness the transformative power of social media to create policies that truly reflect the needs

and aspirations of society.

References

1. Sousa, João Pereira de, and Nuno Miguel Correia Fernandes. "Social Media Use for Public

Policy Making Cycle: A Meta-Analysis." International Journal of Social Research and

Policy 10, no. 2 (2023): 10–25. https://injoser.joln.org/index.php/123/article/view/259/304.

2. Taylor, W. Richard. "Social Media and Public Policy: Theory and Practice." Paper

presented at the International Public Policy Association Conference, Milan, Italy, July 1–4,

2015. https://www.ippapublicpolicy.org/file/paper/1433860583.pdf.

3. Ali, Sana, and Sarah Thompson. "Social Media Use for Public Policy Making Cycle: A

Meta-Analysis." Public Policy and Administration Review 15, no. 1 (2022): 34–46.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366760236_Social_Media_Use_for_Public_Policy_

Making_Cycle_A_Meta-Analysis.

December 15, 2024

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Academic level:

High school

Type of paper:

Essay

Discipline:

Political Science

Citation:

Vancouver

Pages:

7 (1981 words)

Spacing:

Double