How Social Media Undermines Democracy | Michael Kaufmann | TEDxLinz

0:12 We are the most connected generation in history.

0:18 How many of you agree with that?

0:21 Just raise your hand.

0:25 Okay, that's almost everyone.

0:28 But the question is, are we also the best informed generation in history?

0:36 I mean, if information is everywhere, why do so many of us feel confused?

0:43 Why do debates feel so much louder but not smarter?

0:49 Why do we know what's trending worldwide,

0:52 but we don't know what's going on locally?

0:56 So before we talk about social media news deserts and the impact on democracy,

1:03 let me tell you where I'm originally coming from.

1:08 I have been working in the media industry for more than 10 years already.

1:12 I've seen how stories are produced, distributed, and consumed.

1:17 Not from a newsroom desk because I'm not a journalist,

1:21 but from the technical and economically side of media.

1:26 I'm the head of digital at the well-known

1:28 media company based here in Upper Austria,

1:30 and I have been obsessed with how information moves through society.

1:36 I personally started following social media trends back in 2004

1:42 when Facebook was still a closed network for students

1:46 when liking something felt really harmless and when we

1:50 truly believed these platforms would bring us closer together.

1:57 I'm a digital enthusiast and I believe in technology.

2:01 And I'm definitely not here to blame social media platforms.

2:05 But I've also spent years watching how the same

2:09 tools that promised openness slowly reshaped how we talk,

2:13 how we argue, and how we understand the truth.

2:18 And that's the reason why I'm standing here today in front of you.

2:24 So imagine waking up one morning in your hometown.

2:28 You grab your phone, scrolling through your social media feeds,

2:32 and the only thing you see is funny stuff, memes, outrage.

2:38 But you can't find out why the local school lost its funding,

2:42 who decided to cut down the old park trees, or why the new hospital is delayed.

2:50 No newspaper reports it.

2:52 No radio station talks about it.

2:55 The local journalist, she or he was laid off last year.

3:02 That would be what it's like to live in a news desert.

3:05 A place where real journalism has already dried up.

3:10 And the scary truth is these news

3:12 deserts are spreading even in strong democracies,

3:17 even here in the middle of Europe.

3:20 So let me talk about the algorithmic newsrooms.

3:24 The shift in user behavior towards social media

3:27 has fundamentally impacted the business models of publishing houses.

3:33 At first, social media felt really exciting.

3:36 I can get news directly from people.

3:39 I can share my own voice.

3:41 And also for the publishers, it was very interesting at the beginning.

3:45 I can get feedback from my readers.

3:47 I can get in touch with them.

3:51 So yes, social media gave us something really special at the beginning,

3:55 a global conversation.

3:58 But then something dramatically changed.

4:02 These platforms weren't built to inform us.

4:05 They were built to keep us hooked.

4:09 They don't reward truth.

4:12 They reward attention, likes, clicks, outrage.

4:18 The algorithms learned that fear and anger keep us scrolling.

4:23 So the loudest voices rise and the calm, thoughtful ones get buried.

4:31 Social media isn't the public square anymore.

4:34 It's an echo chamber where we stop listening

4:37 to other perspectives and just shout at ourselves.

4:42 These platforms monetize our attention, our use time.

4:48 So in general, you can say we are the product.

4:54 So in an age of constant information,

4:57 the feeling of being informed is often just an illusion.

5:02 Many people say, "I'm on all the time.

5:04 I know everything." But seeing information isn't the same as understanding it.

5:12 Social media floods us with endless updates, but it doesn't really tell us much.

5:19 We know what happened 5 minutes ago on another continent or in another country,

5:24 but we don't know what's going on at home.

5:29 So, democracy depends on informed citizens,

5:32 people who know what's happening around them.

5:36 But when real information disappears,

5:38 when the light of journalism goes out, democracy will die in darkness.

5:46 In the last decade, thousands of news rooms

5:49 have closed due to economical issues in the US,

5:53 in Europe, in parts of in Africa and Asia.

5:57 So whole regions have no local newspapers anymore.

6:02 So why becomes the situation so dramatic?

6:06 When advertisers realized they could reach

6:08 us directly on social media platforms,

6:11 they reduced ad spending in local newspapers.

6:16 According to a momentum study of 2025,

6:20 86% of all digital advertising spent in Austria went

6:25 to big tech companies in the US and China.

6:29 86% of all digital advertising money went to the US and China.

6:37 So the money and the value creation went overseas

6:41 and journalism dried up in some areas of the world.

6:47 Another fact I would like to talk about

6:49 is the problematic screen time we all have.

6:52 Are we addicted to our smartphones?

6:56 According to the latest Deoid smartphone survey,

7:00 the average person in Austria spends more than 5 hours a day on their phone.

7:06 And most of the time we use it to scroll through our social media channels.

7:12 So if you live up to the age of 80 and you

7:15 start to use your mobile phone at the age of 14,

7:19 that's almost 13 years of screen time.

7:22 13 years of your lifetime staring at your screen.

7:27 Isn't that crazy?

7:31 So, we really have to ask ourselves, is this time really well spent?

7:37 Today, smartphones, platforms,

7:39 and algorithms decide what news we see and what we never will.

7:46 As a result of changing user behavior,

7:49 traditional media companies are forced to publish their own quality

7:53 content to social media channels just uh to reach new audiences.

8:00 So it's a strange paradox to feed your competitor

8:03 just to stay visible to the next generations.

8:08 So when local journalism has difficulties,

8:14 several things happen quietly but powerfully.

8:18 First, integrity declines.

8:21 Without reporters, without journalists, organizations become less transparent.

8:26 Fewer people ask critical questions or check the facts.

8:31 Second, fewer people vote.

8:34 When we don't know what's going on locally, we stop caring and we stop voting.

8:40 Third, polarization increases.

8:44 Without trusted local voices,

8:46 we focus only on national fights, left versus right,

8:51 us versus them, and forget the small things that once united us.

8:58 And finally, trust collapses.

9:01 When the only news we see on social media is misinformation or clickbait,

9:07 some people believe that all media is fake.

9:11 Democracy can survive in that.

9:16 And democracy isn't just about voting.

9:18 It's about sharing a common ground, a basic agreement on what's true.

9:26 If everyone lives in their own version of the truth,

9:29 democracy becomes a shouting match.

9:33 And autocratic power, for example, doesn't always come with tanks nowadays.

9:38 Sometimes it comes quietly through confusion and the loss of trust.

9:45 And this confusion often begins on the small

9:48 mobile phone screens we can't stop looking at.

9:54 But here is the good news.

9:55 There is still hope to improve this situation.

9:59 All over the world, people are rebuilding local journalism.

10:03 Small online outlets have started often by volunteers, teachers or retirees.

10:10 They are factchecking, reporting and reconnecting communities.

10:16 Also, some Facebook local Facebook groups

10:18 have turned into citizen journalism hubs.

10:22 Neighbors sharing facts not for likes but for accountability.

10:28 Schools are te teaching media literacy which is very important in my opinion.

10:32 Helping students to question to check and to verify.

10:38 Even some big tech companies support journalism projects.

10:43 So what can we personally do you and me?

10:48 First, pay for quality journalism.

10:51 Every subscription or donation is a vote for truth.

10:56 We pay for movies and music online,

10:59 but not for news that protects our democracy.

11:04 Second, be careful online.

11:06 Before sharing some information, always ask yourself, does it make sense?

11:12 Is it useful?

11:12 Or is it just noise?

11:15 Third, get involved locally.

11:19 Go to community meetings, support local journalists,

11:23 and care about what happens next to your hometown.

11:28 Fourth, teach critical thinking.

11:31 The next generation must know how to check,

11:34 how to verify, and how to ask critical questions.

11:40 Democracy doesn't need passive consumers.

11:42 It needs active participants.

11:46 And maybe it's also time for a new kind of social contract.

11:51 One that protects not only free speech, but also freedom from manipulation.

11:58 A contract where we remember that going viral

12:01 on social media isn't the same as being right.

12:06 where we treat truth like a public resource

12:09 to protect like clean water or fresh air.

12:13 Because when truth is polluted, society gets sick.

12:19 And a news desert isn't just a place without journalism.

12:23 It's a blout connection, without a shared understanding,

12:28 and without sharing a common ground.

12:32 So democracy in combination with independent quality journalism needs people,

12:38 people like you and me who are willing to search

12:42 for the truth even when it's hard to find.

12:46 So let me summarize one last time.

12:49 Pay for quality journalism.

12:51 Get involved locally and think critically and never

12:56 trust social media content without checking the facts.

13:00 Together we make sure that democracy will never gets thirsty again.

13:06 Thank you.