"Social Media and Democracy" Changes Student's Perspective

Camryn Leibowitz, Georgetown University Class of 2020. (Katherine Arcement)

Camryn Leibowitz, of Georgetown University’s Class of 2020, took the Ethics Lab course “Social Media and Democracy” in the Fall of 2017. The course was taught by Ethics Lab Founder and Director Dr. Maggie Little, with assistance from Design Instructor Jonathan Healey. We spoke to Camryn about how the course impacted her. Camryn is set to graduate in May 2020 with a BSFS degree in Science, Technology and International Affairs.

Why did you decide to take “Social Media and Democracy”?

I took the course because I’d heard echoes as to what was going on with social media and the Trump election. My interest was sparked, and this class immediately, directly answered what I wanted to know more about.

How did the class differ from others you have taken, before or since?

The structure of the class was definitely different. It made me engage with material in a different way, especially given the topic. Social media was something that I was actively dealing with and it was a phenomenon that I was a part of. The way that they taught the class really helped us students to realize that this was something that we were all a part of. 

It was much more interactive, focused, and we were all expected to be involved and have an opinion.

How did the class impact you?

The class gave me the vocabulary and the literacy to understand an issue that most people don’t even know is going on. It gave me an understanding as to the way social media works, and for me that’s really important because I’m engaging with it all the time. To not fully understand what’s going on is like you’re in the dark. So it was very illuminating. I find that even now, when discussing or thinking about America and phenomenons going on in this country, knowledge I've taken from that class is always something I'm going to go back to. 

For example, we learned about filter bubbles, and how algorithms work. This was Fall 2017, a year after the Trump election, and everyone was in the throes of understanding what had happened. One concept we learned was that Facebook algorithms, or Instagram or any of the social media sites, only show you things that they know you're going to like, because they want to maximize your engagement on the platform. And because these sites only show you things that you’re going to like, they're only showing you things that you agree with already. So you end up in a bubble where everyone thinks the same way as you.

The way I see the world and the way that I understand things that are happening in the world today have been directly shaped by taking this class.