From democratic engagement to destructive attitudes: Social media’s dual influence on democratic citizenship and attitudes in the United States during the 2020 presidential election

Abstract

Existing research offers mixed evidence on how social media use contributes to or hinders healthy democratic societies. This study examines the impact of social media use generally, and perceived exposure to political misinformation and correction on social media specifically, on two forms of democratic citizenship: constructive behaviors and destructive democratic attitudes. Drawing on a two-wave survey of US adults, we find that greater social media use is linked to heightened concern about election fairness but not to greater political participation among political partisans. Higher perceived exposure to political misinformation predicts attendance at political events but is unrelated to destructive democratic attitudes. Higher perceived exposure to corrections is positively associated with donating to campaigns and volunteering, but also predicts stronger endorsement of violence for political goals. These results reveal the mixed role of social media in encouraging democratic participation while amplifying some anti-democratic attitudes.