Social Media Driving Americans Apart Outline

a. An example of the Obama presidency is when the media evoked a crisis that led to the mistrust in the presidency (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017). II. Social media has created problems even for children (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017). a. Research indicates that the problem of polarization is more prevalent in the elderly people who are less likely to use social media. (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017). V. Partisan cable like Fox News and MSNBC have been identified as major contributors to the problem of polarization (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017). a. Social media is responsible for the divisive thoughts that continue to grip the American people. a. Admitting that social media is a contributor to the polarization problem is the first step to solving the problems.

b. Americans must realize that polarization is a creation of the political class and it can take the efforts of individuals to create awareness on the problem (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017). Personal Responses The problem of polarization was evident in the Obama administration and still present in the trump administration. The media has constantly been put on the spot for being responsible for the extensive levels of hatred and rumors on the media. Both cable and social media are mentioned in the article as mediums used to grow the hate (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017). I feel that the technology age should offer better platforms for solutions to the problem of polarization instead of making it worse. “The social-media-as-villain narrative is gripping because it plays vividly to our fears” (Boxell, Gentzkow & Shapiro, 2017).