Telematics and Informatics Reports (Dec 2022)
Re-start social media, but how?
Abstract
Social media has captured a large share of the public sphere at a pace far quicker than any other means of communication did in the past, but the initial techno-optimism that marked this ascent has recently started giving way to critical assessments of its wide-ranging effects. In this article, we argue that just as there is a need to assess and highlight its many ills, there is also an urgent need to foster and expand discussion on what a healthier version of social media could look like. We examine social media from the perspective of its three constituent parts, namely social networks, communication within these networks and the platforms that enable them. Subsequently, we argue that social media as an idea should be reimagined independently of the limited group of platforms that currently monopolize it. To that end, we discuss alternative models such as federated, blockchain-based and public-service social media platforms, and the measures required to ensure a level playing field for their emergence.
