Be it resolved, social media is a force for good in the world

Increasingly, big social media platforms are being blamed for transforming modern society into an angry mob of anti-social, distracted and disenfranchised automatons. For their detractors, the digital cocktail the platforms purvey is fueling hatred, misinformation and threatening the very foundations of our democracy. For others, blaming the platforms for the 21st century’s social ills is simplistic scapegoating. For its proponents, social media is expanding the scope of human freedom, full stop. The platforms have disrupted vested power structures and interests, empowered marginalized voices, increased transparency and accountability, and ushered in an era of unparalleled personal self-expression.