Test on Societal Impact of Social Media

Question 1: Social media use has fuelled significant political protests such as the Arab Spring and Black Lives Matter.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: The study materials state, 'For example, social media use fuelled political protests including the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, #LoveWins, #MeToo, and Occupy Wall Street.'

Question 2: According to the study materials, which of the following ways does social media contribute to fostering community support?

A. It enables individuals to find friends with shared interests across various geographical locations.

B. It allows shy or introverted individuals to initiate friendships with reduced social barriers.

C. It serves as a primary platform for political activists to fundraise and promote public events.

D. It supplements existing offline relationships and provides crucial support from groups not accessible in offline life.

Explanation: Social media promotes community by connecting people with similar interests across distances, helping shy individuals reach out to potential friends with lowered barriers and risks, and supplementing offline relationships to provide crucial support. The material also notes that 80% of teens felt more connected to friends and 67% felt they had people to support them because of social media. While social media does encourage civic and political responsibility, that is a separate aspect from fostering community support in terms of personal relationships and well-being.

Question 3: The social media confirmation bias machine, which is perfectly tailored for the spread of misinformation, primarily develops when a post receives sufficient early engagement from its first viewers.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: The study materials state that the social media confirmation bias machine develops when a post 'isn’t retweeted, favored, or replied to by enough of its first viewers,' leading the newsfeed algorithm to show it to more users and tap into their biases, which then prompts more engagement.

Question 4: Social media newsfeed algorithms primarily work to mitigate the influence of confirmation bias, thereby limiting the spread of misinformation.

A. Ano

B. Ne

Explanation: The study materials state that newsfeed algorithms tap into users' biases, prompting more engagement and creating a confirmation bias machine perfectly tailored for the spread of misinformation. This indicates they amplify, rather than mitigate, the influence of confirmation bias in spreading misinformation.

Question 5: What term did Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus use to describe the widespread misinformation on social media regarding the COVID-19 pandemic?

A. A confirmation bias machine

B. An infodemic

C. A social media crisis

D. An information overload

Explanation: Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted about the COVID-19 pandemic: 'We are not just fighting an epidemic; we are fighting an infodemic,' referring to the misinformation populating social media feeds about the virus. Therefore, 'infodemic' is the correct term.