Pew: Social Media Changes Political Views of 29% of American Men Under 30

29 percent of men under 30 have had their political views changed by social media, while 14 percent of Americans overall have been affected by Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms in the same way, according to Pew Research.

Men between the ages of 18 and 29 were the most likely people in America to change their political views after seeing content on social media, with 29 percent claiming to have done so.

“Social media prompted views to change more among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (17%) than among Republicans and Republican leaners (9%),” reported Pew Research. “Within these party groups, there are also some differences by gender, at least among Democrats. Men who are Democrats or lean Democratic (21%) are more likely than their female counterparts (14%) to say they’ve changed their minds. However, equal shares of Republican and Republican-leaning men and women say the same (9% each).”

14% of Americans have changed their views on a political or social issue in the past year because of something they saw on social media. The share is higher (29%) among men under 30. https://t.co/39MdVqZn9m pic.twitter.com/V8DrGJoQM0

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) September 3, 2018

63 percent of those who claimed to have changed their political views through social media also claimed social media was an important tool to become involved in “political or social issues.”

Last year, Pew Research reported that 67 percent of Americans received their news through social media, up 5 percent from 2016.

74 percent of users claimed to get their news from Twitter, while 68 percent of users claimed to get their news from Reddit and Facebook.

32 percent of users received their news from Google’s YouTube platform.

Last week, President Trump criticized social networks for being politically biased and censoring conservatives.

“Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices. Speaking loudly and clearly for the Trump Administration, we won’t let that happen,” the president declared. “They are closing down the opinions of many people on the RIGHT, while at the same time doing nothing to others.”

On Wednesday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify before Congress about bias against conservatives on his paltform.