Due to negative news coverage, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have received criticism, causing the positive aspects of digital platforms to be disregarded. To address this, a recent study from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has examined the social media activity of a specifically chosen group of individuals who use Twitter, a microblogging platform.
The researchers suggest that, despite different backgrounds, socially engaged Twitter users actually have a large amount of common ground that binds them together.
“These digital cosmopolitans share similar values and are guided by similar motivations and perspectives on society,” the researchers explain.
Digital cosmopolitanism
Almost every message on social media contains some type of criticism. The way Donald Trump used Twitter in a new way and the utilization of social media by far-right extremists for radicalization and networking has led to a particular emphasis on the right-wing populist and agitator potential of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and others in research. However, researchers often neglect to consider the other side: social media as a realm for promoting values such as solidarity and comprehension.
In this qualitative study, the researchers analyze the motivations, backgrounds, and characteristics that prompt ten individuals from various parts of Europe to express support for human rights, tolerance, and opposition to authoritarianism on Twitter. The study concentrates on ordinary people rather than influential figures or popular accounts.
According to the study, the Twitter users who were interviewed, despite differences in age, location, and specific interests (such as climate protection, combating anti-Semitism, or advocating for LGBT rights), share similar values, motivations, and outlooks on society and social progress.
Additionally, the study reveals notable similarities between traditional volunteering and Twitter’s cosmopolitan sphere.
“We perceive this as a form of digital civic engagement,” the researchers conclude. The study concludes by addressing how this form of commitment and dedication to “the world as a whole” can be accomplished in the sometimes harsh environment of social media.
