Social Media: A Divide by Politics

0:00On April 10th, a new study from the Institute for Public Policy Research drops some real talk on social media feeds. Reform UK voters are the least likely to see posts from friends and family, clocking in at just 13% of their top content. Meanwhile, they're hit with the most from brands and news outlets. Green Party supporters, one non, they see double that personal stuff around 23%. The research pool from a survey of 1,000 UK folks who broke down their top four posts on apps like Instagram, Facebook, X, Blue Sky, and TikTok. Overall only 18% came from people they actually know. 35% were influencers, celebs or recommendations, and 29% straight up ads. This setup is cranking up isolation and splitting folks further, experts say. Algorithms feed different vibes based on your politics, making it tough to share a common ground or even debate properly. We all see our own bubbles, no overlap, dig deeper. And it's all about that addictive design, keeping eyes, glued, short videos everywhere,

1:05pushing influencers, because we binge them and spend cash. Platforms chase max time on site over real connections. To fix it, the report pushes for a public service platform run by the BBC and European broadcasters plus tweaks to the Online Safety Act for more. Control and public interest boosts. It's already eyeing addictive tricks like endless scrolls, so change might be coming if we keep the pressure on.