Let’s face it, a lot of us can’t live without social media these days. In fact, a new poll by the “Wall Street Journal” and NBC News finds that 69% of Americans use social media at least once a day. But as much as we are using it, social media seems to be losing its appeal for a lot of folks, with 57% of people saying social media is dividing society and another 82% saying it’s a waste of time.
But those are only a few opinions people have about social media, and not all of them are negative, although some of them are. The poll finds that folks believe social media:
- Spreads unfair attacks and rumors (61%)
- Spreads lies and misinformation (55%)
- Brings people together (35%)
- Holds public figures and corporations accountable (32%)
- Spreads news and information (31%)
- Allows folks to use their time well (15%)
Trust is another big issue when it comes to social media, and a lot of people have just lost trust in the most popular sites, with Facebook being the worst, with 60% of folks saying they do “not at all” trust Facebook with their personal information.
But even though a lot of people are disenchanted, not many are doing anything about it. The truth is only 48% have made any effort to cut back on how often they use their smartphone, while only 42% have tried to limit or quit social media.
Source: Wall Street Journal