How Social Media Affects Our Social Identity and Social Dynamics

Social media has become an integral part of our lives and with its rise, it has sparked an interest about how it may be affecting our lives. After much research and many articles on the internet, I'm sure we've already heard it all: "Social media is turning into an addiction", "Social media is harming our mental health", and so many more. But what if I told you that social media's impact on our lives does not end there? That, in fact, it goes so much deeper than that, all the way down to the human psyche? Indeed, social media has the power to shape and give new direction to our social identities and social dynamics. Let's have a look at how social media, a tool invented by us, now governs our social lives:

"Who am I?" "Where do I belong?" These are questions all humans subconsciously seek answers to. The answers we reach are what give our lives meaning. And the need we feel for these answers is social media's biggest weapon. This is where the factor of social identity comes in. Social identity is, according to the "Social Identity Theory", the identity a person adopts by categorising themselves according to which groups they feel they belong. This process is crucial for our self-esteem because once we have identified with a group, which is now called our "in-group", we then proceed on to comparing the value of our in-group to the other groups, a.k.a. "out-groups". Naturally, we all desire to be a part of valuable groups, so that we can feel valuable ourselves. Therefore, the higher the perceived value of our in-group is, the higher our self-esteem becomes.

Nowadays, thanks to social media, we have the whole world at the tip of our fingers. This helps people to connect with others in a massive extent and with incredible speed. This way, groups are able to reach wider audiences than before and thus, gain new members much more easily. And so social media, helping people find groups they can identify with, has become an invaluable tool to attain a sense of belonging. Thus, social media helps us satisfy a fundamental psychological need, making itself an almost indispensable part of our lives.

Unfortunately, social media's influence on us isn't all positive. As with most things in life, there are two sides to this coin. We all know how the algorithms of every social media platform work. The algorithm detects the specific kinds of content each individual often engages with, and then keeps showing them similar types of content. At first, this may seem like more of a pro rather than a con. Who wouldn't like to be able to see the type of content they like all the time, right? And perhaps it's not a bad thing for contents whose sole purpose is to entertain. However, with politically charged content, which is a type that seems to be on the rise, it can have a severe impact. When a person is constantly exposed to content with the same type of beliefs and opinions, especially since they will be in alignment with their own, this leads to their own beliefs and opinions becoming more rigid. It reinforces ideas. Thus, the algorithm traps the person in an "echo chamber". And the danger of these echo chambers is not only that the individual won't be exposed to different ideas, but it also poses a threat for intergroup dynamics. With a matter as sensitive and volatile as politics, these echo chambers lead to severe outcomes. When people become a part of a group and have their beliefs reinforced over and over again, with no exposure to opposing ideas that could challenge their own or help them gain new perspectives, they take heart from this situation and become hostile towards members of out-groups more easily. And when this happens with members of countless different groups on a platform such as social media, the effect is like adding fuel to an already raging fire. It intensifies polarisation between groups. People become more hostile and the habit of dehumanizing out-groups spreads, turning social media, and perhaps the world itself, into a more violent space.

Well, how can people behave so hostile and uncivilized so easily on social media? Surely, we've all seen cases in which a social media user is making horrendous hate comments, spewing insults at others in a way they probably couldn't in real life, face to face. How does one find the nerve to do such a thing? This is yet another effect of social media, caused by the anonymity it offers. Anonymity decreases sense of responsibility and the possibility of having to face any consequence of one's own actions directly. Thus, people feel more comfortable doing acts they wouldn't be able to in real life.

Besides anonymity, there is another factor at play, too: A psychological phenomenon called "deindividuation". Deindividuation is when in a group setting, a person joining the group in on the act they are doing loses their unique sense of identity and instead, starts viewing themselves as a mere member of that group without a unique identity. In other words, the person loses their sense of individuality and they become a mere small part of a whole, same as all the other small parts, according to their perception. This loss of sense of individuality leads to a decreased sense of responsibility. The person no longer feels responsible of their actions as long as they are aligned with the group's actions. Well, how does this happen on social media? For example, let's say a particular group of people started a "hate train" targeting another person. Members of this group will feel more comfortable participating in spreading hate compared to if they were to do it alone. Because they are now a part of a whole, members of a group with which they identify, and so they almost instinctively join their group in on whatever they are doing. They no longer identify as an individual, instead their in-group has become their identity. And combined with the anonymity social media provides, they don't feel personally responsible for their actions anymore.

We've already discussed how the algorithm detects the type of content a user is interested in and keeps showing them the same kind of content. Well, another thing about the algorithm is that it favors emotionally charged content. This is likely because emotionally charged contents evoke stronger reactions, which means more engagement. This may seem harmless at first. It's how social media works, we're all used to it, right? But for intergroup dynamics, this can become an aggravating factor in times of conflict. According to the "Emotional Contagion Theory", emotions tend to spread among a group like a ripple in water. They become stronger, their extent greater as they spread. This is yet another factor that intensifies polarisation, provokes strong emotional reactions and thus, makes intergroup conflicts more and more violent.

Social media has altered many aspects of our lives immensely, both for the better and for the worse. We can't remove it from our lives; it has certainly become too integral to it for that. Plus, we can't deny that it has great benefits for all of us. But we can't, and shouldn't, ignore its negative impact either. What we can do is try and balance the bright side and the dark. It is crucial that we always remember social media is a tool made to serve us, not the other way around. So let's try and use it to make our world a better, kinder and safer place.