As the presidential election approaches, the race is ramping up – including on social media. Although Meta reported in 2022 that only about 3% of the content on Facebook is political, Americans have already begun bracing themselves for a deluge of political news stories, ads, AI deepfakes and arguments on their feeds over the next few weeks. Elections are stressful , and they tend to exacerbate Americans’ adverse mental health symptoms .
For some people, social media can amplify political stressors . Despite the tensions building on users’ digital feeds, an impending election doesn’t mean that people need to avoid social media altogether. When used wisely, social media can still be an important source for political information and an outlet to express opinions .
I’ve studied how people navigate social media during elections, and I want to share three strategies to help you prepare your accounts for this election season so you can stay connected to what’s important without drowning in partisan back-and-forth. 1. Audit your feeds While elections can be stressful, they also offer a chance to take ownership of the content that you consume online – or, as digital culture scholar Jessa Lingel says, “ be your own algorithm .
” Take the time to audit your social media ecosystem before November by considering the accounts that you follow and the settings that you have in place. Social media platforms and their algorithms have inspired widespread concerns about their r.