Higher social media use linked to lower support for democracy, poll shows

The more people use social media, the less likely they are to believe democracy is the best form of government, the survey of over 20,000 Americans found.

Americans who spend at least five hours a day on social media are more likely to feel heard, but also more open to political violence and less supportive of democracy, according to a major new poll released this week.

But researchers can’t say for sure whether platforms such as Instagram and X are the cause or the effect of those views, and other academics have found social media’s influence is limited.

The findings come from a nationally representative study of more than 20,000 Americans that Gallup and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation conducted last summer as part of their annual survey on the ways Americans experience democracy. Of those surveyed, more than 1 in 10 spend at least five hours a day on social media.