Interdisciplinary Studies on the Human Condition
The Impact of Social Media in Contemporary Society
T he fundamental reality is that social media has had an impact on individuals and how they function in society. Whether we are talking about cognitive functions such as attention span or exposure to different cultures, traditions, beliefs and moral values, whether we seek them out or those around us expose us to them through social media. The APA Dictionary of Psychology describes social identity as “the personal qualities that one claims and displays to others so consistently that they come to be regarded as part of one’s essential, stable self”, as well as “the part of self-concept that derives from membership in social groups or categories, ranging from family to nationality or race”. This has implications for group dynamics, described as “the processes, operations, and changes that occur within social groups and that affect patterns of membership, communication, conflict, conformity, decision- making, influence, leadership, norm formation, and power”. Observing geopolitical situations, as shown by Zexing Xie’s research (2023) Analysis of the Impact of Social Media on Social Dynamics, we can give an example of the situation in Ukraine in 2022, where 20.28% of those spreading information on the subject were probably bots. Thus, the statistics found by Oxford University, which the research shows, assume that 76 out of 81 countries, 93%, used the virtual environment to spread false information. There are theories that support the fundamental nature of the individual from birth, or their conditioning by the stimuli to which they are exposed. We could consider the theory of habit and draw a parallel in understanding the human dynamics to which we are accustomed. Modern theories derived from classical behaviorism describe how habits manifest
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