Researchers investigated whether social media strengthens or weakens echo chambers by studying rural young people who leave for university and the parents who stay home. The study used egocentric network methods and surveyed personal network diversity, social media use and social tolerance. The sample comprised 500 undergraduate students at a large public Midwestern university and one of their parents, totalling 1,000 participants; rural status was determined from ZIP code at application. The study was published in Information, Communication and Society.
Findings confirmed that attending university is linked with more diverse acquaintances and greater social tolerance. Social media use was broadly associated with wider, more diverse networks and higher acceptance. But the picture became more complex when family members used the same platforms.
Students who had been at university longer and shared platforms with their parents tended to have less diverse networks and lower tolerance. In contrast, parents who used the same platforms as their children developed more racially and ethnically diverse networks and greater tolerance; parents who did not share platforms experienced less growth in diversity. Keith Hampton of Michigan State University notes that parents’ networks can become less racially and ethnically diverse when children leave, and sharing platforms appears to partially offset this decline.
The researchers suggest that shared social media may help parents form new connections, break down echo chambers and keep family lives linked during major life changes. They also caution that longer-term effects are not yet known and that there could be lasting impacts on parents and rural communities.
Difficult words
- echo chamber — situation where people only hear similar viewsecho chambers
- egocentric — focused on one person's social connections
- tolerance — willingness to accept different people or views
- diverse — including people or things from different backgrounds
- platform — website or app people use to connectplatforms
- share — use or have something together with othersshared
- offset — reduce the size or effect of something negative
- acquaintance — person you know but do not know wellacquaintances
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- In what ways might shared social media help parents in rural communities form new connections? Give examples.
- Why might students who share platforms with their parents have less diverse networks over time? Explain possible reasons.
- What further research would you suggest to learn about the longer-term effects the researchers mention?
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