Citation :

S. Sriram, S. Mahaboob Basha, 2025. "Social Media and Political Polarization: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study" International Journal of Community Empowerment & Society Administration [IJCESA]  Volume 2, Issue 3: 13-22.

Abstract :

The burgeoning use of social media has transformed political communication around the globe and raised serious concerns about how it shapes political polarization. Political polarization is characterized by an intellectual divide and affective enmity between rival political factions, phenomena that are highly problematic for democratic governance, social solidarity, and civil conversation. Focusing on the US, India, Brazil and Germany, the paper conducts a cross-cultural comparison of the effect of social media on political polarisation across countries. To map and evaluate the principal mechanisms linking social media to polarization, the analysis systematizes empirical data, cross-national reporting, and country-level insight. These include exposure to diverse opinions, the formation of echo chambers and selective exposure, algorithmic reinforcement of content that is emotionally salient or polarizing, elite cues and network structures on information flows, and disinformation and coordinated manipulation campaigns. Social Media reflects and exacerbates political polarization, but the extent and manner of both have been determined by context-dependent factors. Social media is a factor in the affective polarization and ideological sorting of the United States, particularly when considering algorithmically promoted information and Hyper-Active People Shaping (HAPS) conversations. In India, you see the echoes of deep social and identity divides, with the added accelerant of Facebook and WhatsApp as platforms for rapidly disseminating fake news or content designed to amplify hostilities against rival groups. Germany illustrates how regulatory protections, trustworthy media sources and effective content moderation can mitigate some polarizing effects, while Brazil exhibits similar dynamics with small hyperactive user groups and meme-driven content heightening political division. The study stresses how critical moderators for the level and nature of polarization are political systems, media ecosystems, platform market shares, and regulatory regimes. This paper builds on this work by proposing a mixed method research design for further international research that will include content analysis, social network analysis, standardised survey instruments and interventions to explore causal pathways. To curb the proliferation of divisive or misleading information, the article also outlines policy implications, including the role ts to be played by platform transparency, context-based content filtering and digital literacy education; legal protection for regulated speech; and design interventions. To help point the way to future empirical research, methodological concerns are finally discussed: how to find causes; how input and output variables may be specified in relation to each other with some standard of measurement; ethical issues surrounding data gathering and algorithm-based intervention in deployed systems; and socially dynamic properties of platforms that suggest they should not be treated as emergent technology. On the whole, it builds a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between political polarization and social media, with implications for comparative and policy-driven research.

References :

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Keywords :

Social Media, Political Polarization, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Echo Chambers, Algorithmic Amplification, Disinformation, Digital Literacy, Network Analysis, Comparative Politics.