First Advisor

Harry Anastasiou

Term of Graduation

Spring 2024

Date of Publication

6-5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Conflict Resolution

Department

Conflict Resolution

Language

English

Subjects

depolarization, peace journalism, polarization, social media, technique

Physical Description

1 online resource (vi, 93 pages)

Abstract

The United States is currently experiencing extremely high levels of polarization that is unique to other times in history. One way to account for this historical difference is the fact that polarization is playing out under the novel conditions generated by technology and, specifically, social media. Thus far, work in the area of social media and polarization has primarily focused on proving a causal relationship between the two with contributions across disciplines remaining disparate without an integrative framework of understanding. Strikingly, there are few contributions from the field of conflict resolution, indicative of the more sweeping need for the field to begin to account for the impacts of technology on peace and conflict. Motivated to move beyond the limitations of causality and to take an interdisciplinary approach, this thesis seeks to determine how to best characterize the relationship between social media and current hyperpolarization in the United States and what the nature of this relationship indicates for the role that social media can play in depolarization. It is found that the relationship can best be categorized as a mutually reinforcing feedback loop wherein polarization drives social media use and social media functions and develops in a way that facilitates and catalyzes polarization processes. The nature of this relationship indicates there is likely a limit to the role that social media can play in depolarization, especially without substantial changes to how the platforms operate and are run. This work suggests a variety of changes to the features of social media that may mitigate and disrupt polarization processes, highlights the importance of individual and collective understanding about the relationship between social media and polarization, and calls for macro level change to the institution of social media specifically in terms of the need to develop Digital Peace Media.

Rights

© Phoebe Cordova

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42431

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