Are social networking sites good for society?

Social media allows the public to keep up-to-date with latest news

Question: Are social networking sites good for society?
Position1 of 2›: Yes, social networking sites are good for society
Argument1 of 2›: Social media allows the public to keep up-to-date with latest news

Use of traditional media outlets is on the decline, especially among younger generations, as social media platforms provide us with a quick and convenient way to keep up with local and global affairs.

The argument

Social media platforms have transformed how we interact with the world around us, and this includes how we keep up to date with the latest happenings and timely conversations. The change is one of access rather than of appetite. While some people choose to rely on traditional news outlets such as radio and TV to stay informed, others take advantage of online news and media outlets, and the difference between the two is that the second comes to the reader rather than waiting to be sought out. A broadcast bulletin has to be tuned into at a fixed hour; a feed delivers the same information into a space people are already looking at, continuously and at no additional cost. For anyone whose schedule does not align with a news hour, that is the difference between being informed and not. The scale of the shift is visible in the survey data. According to a study carried out by Pew Research, 37% of Americans prefer to access their news online. According to the Reuters 2020 Digital News report, social networking platforms such as Facebook are used by roughly 3 in 10 people who are concerned with local news and information — which places these platforms at the centre of local reporting, the tier of news most likely to go uncovered otherwise. What's more, those aged 18-24 are twice as likely to use social media to stay informed, so the pattern is strengthening rather than levelling off as younger audiences age. Taken together, these figures describe a public that is better connected to events than it was before, and connected through a channel it already uses daily. Social networking sites are good for society because they allow the public to keep in touch with both local and global events with ease.

Premises

[P1]Staying informed about local and global events is valuable for society. [P2] Social networking sites give the public easy access to timely news, with significant shares of Americans—especially younger users—relying on them to stay up to date. [C] Therefore, social networking sites benefit society by helping the public keep up with the latest news.

Counter-arguments

That many people get their news from social media does not show it is good for society. The very same platforms are a primary vector for misinformation, algorithmic filter bubbles and the hollowing-out of local journalism, so 'keeping up to date' through social feeds can leave people less accurately informed than traditional outlets, not more. Usage figures measure reach, not benefit — and the news function is exactly where social media's documented harms, from viral falsehoods to echo chambers, are concentrated. A feature can be widely used and still be, on balance, bad for the public that uses it.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] High usage for news is compatible with worse information quality, since social feeds amplify misinformation and filter bubbles. [Rejecting C] The news-delivery role is where social media's harms cluster, so it does not straightforwardly show the sites are good for society.