Dutch leading growing skeptism of social media; 70% call it a risk to democracy

Skepticism of social media is growing worldwide, but nowhere as fast as in the Netherlands. Some 70 percent of Dutch people consider social media harmful to democracy, and 93 percent believe that social media platforms manipulate their users, the Volkskrant reported, based on a study by Pew Research.

Pew Research surveyed over 42,000 people across 37 countries on social media and democracy. It found that concerns about social media’s effect on the election system are growing worldwide, but nowhere as much as in the Netherlands.

Approximately 70 percent of the 1,000 Dutch respondents called social media detrimental to democracy, up from 54 percent in 2022 and the largest proportion of concerned respondents in the world. The proportion of Dutch who view social media as beneficial for democracy dropped from 44 percent in 2022 to 27 percent now. Concerns about social media’s impact on democracy are also growing in the Netherlands’ neighboring countries, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

The findings correspond to recent criticism of social media platforms this year. The European Commission, for example, officially labeled platforms like TikTok and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook as addictive and harmful and announced plans to limit children’s use of such platforms last month.

But despite the growing concerns and criticism, Pew Research found that respondents worldwide remain predominantly positive about social media. This sentiment is most pronounced in developing economies, like Kenya and Bangladesh, and in countries with limited press freedom, like Israel and Turkey. Pew Research attributes this partly to social media platforms “giving people a voice at a time when they feel unheard.”