In an age where digital means of communication are becoming more prevalent by the day, it’s become easier than ever to share our opinions online. Whether these be our thoughts about films, or political values, it’s obvious that comment sections across the internet havebeen flooded with personal views and opinions. In this article, we aim to investigate some of the positives and negatives associated with being able to share our every thought with the Masses. What are the impacts of being able to share our opinions anywhere at any time? Firstly and most obviously, it is easier for everyone to share their thoughts online. All we have to do is pick up our phones, type a response and hit postit really is as easy as that! People no longer have to consider what they are saying and how this might affect the person at the other end of the phone because social media has created a whole new faceless type of communication.

The simplicity of this faceless communication has created the potential to overshare, which many of us have surely fallen victim to. Our lack of physical communication has created a desire for connection, leading to our tendency as social media users to overshare private details about our lives online. Having access to social media can absolutely be valuable in society, it’s another way to connect with others around usand even people who we’d never have met without it! So why not use it? Without this technology, it’d be harder for everyone to voice their opinions on a global scalesomething everyone can now do which is an incredible thing. We now have millions of voices who we’d never have heard before now being involved in global discourse. People in the UK arguing with Americans over geo-conflicts, people in Europe arguing with Australians about their own politics.

The floor for discussion has never been more open. You could even go so far as to say opinion sharing on social media is more democratic, because, in theory, one person’s opinion is just as important as everyone else’s. One of the best effects of this ability to share our opinions online is the potential for human connection with the ability to meet like-minded people online. Our shared interests which we can speak about in group chats or forums can be a great source of joy and entertainment, especially if it’s an interest we don’t share with anyone we know in person.

On the other side of things, there are drawbacks to the insane amount of opinion-based comments we see as social media users every day. When you have millions and millions of voices on these platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), it can be hard to feel like your own opinion is being heard. If you’re reading hundreds upon hundreds of comments a day on TikTok where people are arguing about things you feel really passionate about, you might think it’s just unnecessary to comment your own opinion. Maybe it’s already been commented on, or maybe people are already dogpiling it without you even stating it. We also often tend to respect the opinions of those who already have a following online. This means we may fall victim to idolizing our favorite influencers’ opinions, leading to more misinformation and disinformation because their opinions are taken as fact.

The issue with respecting their opinion over others’ is the simple fact that they don’t know everything! It’s that simple. Even if this influencer has done hours and hours of research, they still might be wrong. It’s better to do your own research instead, and come to your own conclusions. Political debates on TikTok have shifted from real political issues to trivial arguments about how people choose to take care of their pets which seems absurd when living in such a politically turbulent age. It seems like people are disheartened with the current state of politics and are deciding to argue about increasingly menial topics just out of boredom.

Echo chambers have also become so common that chances are you, yourself, have been in one without really knowing. Echo chambers are spaces where someone only comes in contact with people who share the same opinion. Say, for example, you’re a Socialist on TikTok and you ‘like’ posts that are related to socialismchances are you’re going to encounter this content more often because you’ve interacted with similar content in the past. This may seem like a good thing to start with, but it comes with many, many issues. Without any other voices and opinions that are different to yours, how can you be certain that yours is the right one to have? With so many people echoing your own opinion, your own certainty just becomes even more concrete. You need to be challenged on your own opinion, otherwise it’s impossible to know what’s really right and what’s really wrong.