In Brazil, the use of social media is increasing and has transformed the way that citizens address social issues, access and share information, and interact with others. In this literature review, I am going to use the ideas of Bastos (2014), Horst (2011) and Margetts (2016) to examine the extent to which social media has influenced political communication, activism, society, and culture. The first article looks at the relationship between political discussions on social media and offline activity. The second article examines how social and technological media impact Brazilian culture. The third article investigates the power of social information and the impact on public opinion.
In order to understand the relationship between political …show more content…
The authors examined how political posts shared by others and political discussions influence social media users. The experiment generated several interesting findings. They found that social media provides a virtual public sphere where people share ideas and have political discussions. The authors discuss the concept ‘individualization of collective action’ to describe how individuals can share knowledge and ideas to influence policy as well as the distribution of power. Individualization of collective action means that individuals can influence policy without the need for some organizations and interest groups (p. 195-198). Individuals can pick and chose which ideas and causes appeal to them and promote their own collection without having to subscribe to a one-size-fits-all ideology. Those that are successful in attaining critical mass “inject turbulence into every area of politics, acting as an unruly, unpredictable influence on political life,” (p. 200). Margetts et. al. (2016) found that people are more likely to participate in a collective action under two conditions. When people see the high participation of others, they are more likely to participate themselves. Individuals are also more likely to participate in collective action when they know that their decision to participate is visible to others. Margetts et. al. (2016), suggested …show more content…
The findings discussed in the above paragraphs illustrate and provide several examples of how social media has had a positive impact throughout the nation. However, there are still issues like socioeconomic inequality, violence that stems from protests, reduced access to media and technological resources in rural areas, and a breakdown in communication between socioeconomic classes. While social media provides value to Brazil, there remain several opportunities to improve conditions in society and improve existing literature in the
In order to understand the relationship between political …show more content…
The authors examined how political posts shared by others and political discussions influence social media users. The experiment generated several interesting findings. They found that social media provides a virtual public sphere where people share ideas and have political discussions. The authors discuss the concept ‘individualization of collective action’ to describe how individuals can share knowledge and ideas to influence policy as well as the distribution of power. Individualization of collective action means that individuals can influence policy without the need for some organizations and interest groups (p. 195-198). Individuals can pick and chose which ideas and causes appeal to them and promote their own collection without having to subscribe to a one-size-fits-all ideology. Those that are successful in attaining critical mass “inject turbulence into every area of politics, acting as an unruly, unpredictable influence on political life,” (p. 200). Margetts et. al. (2016) found that people are more likely to participate in a collective action under two conditions. When people see the high participation of others, they are more likely to participate themselves. Individuals are also more likely to participate in collective action when they know that their decision to participate is visible to others. Margetts et. al. (2016), suggested …show more content…
The findings discussed in the above paragraphs illustrate and provide several examples of how social media has had a positive impact throughout the nation. However, there are still issues like socioeconomic inequality, violence that stems from protests, reduced access to media and technological resources in rural areas, and a breakdown in communication between socioeconomic classes. While social media provides value to Brazil, there remain several opportunities to improve conditions in society and improve existing literature in the