Taming the Feed: Leveraging Evaluation Practices to Counter Polarization on Social Media

More than five billion people or 63% of the global population are now using social media. Platforms like X and Facebook have become top sources of news and information, evolving into arenas for public debate even though they were never designed for that purpose.

On one hand, this demonstrates the power of social media to connect, inform, and amplify voices. On the other, it reveals its capacity to fuel polarization and erode civil discourse. If we’re not intentional and mindful about our social media activities, we risk contributing to this unhealthy dynamic.

Success on social media is often measured by how many likes, shares, and reposts we get. These metrics are shaped by algorithms that reward engagement. This boosts visibility for our brands and messages, but it also limits our exposure to diverging views and traps us in echo chambers. The very system that rewards engagement also drives polarization.

So, if our usual social media practices are part of the problem, what can we do differently? And what evaluation practices and standards can we apply to our online activities to counter polarization?

This Glocal session invites social media users and communications professionals to reflect on their roles in shaping the online space and explore how they can work together to counter polarization and foster dialogue that builds bridges and overcomes divisions.

OBJECTIVES:
1. Raise awareness of how polarization plays out on social media and how we may unintentionally contribute to it.
2. Explore evaluation practices and standards that can be applied to social media to counter polarization.
3. Explore more meaningful metrics for measuring the success of social media activities.
4. Foster collaboration and peer learning among social media users and communications professionals.