It’s official: Aussies don’t trust social media platforms.
71.3% of Australians feel that social media creates more problems than it solves, according to a recent survey by Roy Morgan. Care to guess which platform people distrust the most? Facebook and Meta.
Why is it that Australians distrust social media so much? The spread of misinformation, lies and fake news are the primary concerns, with people also feeling distaste for bullying, harassment, and the strain it can place on mental and physical health.
Meta, Twitter and TikTok are currently in the process of rebranding to combat negative perceptions about their platforms. But can they address the increasing level of distrust across all social media platforms that has resulted in users deserting apps? (This is the right thing to do, by the way. If social media is making you scared, confused, sick, or if it’s damaging your mental health, then the best thing to do is remove yourself from it.)
Before you take that step, there are a number of things you can do to minimise damage:
- Only follow people you know in real life.
- Unfollow any accounts you “hate follow”.
- Disable comments and block keywords that trigger you.
- Only read news from verified and reputable sources.
But what about rebuilding trust? That’s not on you. As this article from The New Daily explains, social media platforms need to neutralise distrust before they can even think of rebuilding.