Sixteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The cultivation effects of television viewing have been studied extensively by George Gerbner and his colleagues. However, there appears to be a lack of research exploring “whether the worldview of social media users exhibits a certain degree of cultivation due to the content they are exposed to on social media” (Nevzat 2018, p. 10). My research explores the effects of Facebook use through the lens of cultivation theory (see Gerbner & Gross 1976). Although academic research on the cultivation effects of Facebook use is still in its infant stage, conflicting ideas have already emerged. Some believe Facebook has replaced television as the medium which binds diverse communities together into a shared culture (Hermann 2016). Others claim the social networking site divides users based on content preferences (Nevzat 2018). My 2019 honours project concentrated on users’ perceptions of Muslims in Australia. The findings suggest that Facebook content, if consumed habitually or in the absence of critical thinking, can cultivate one-sided perceptions on contentious social issues. This in turn can result in hostile constructions of ‘us against them’ attitudes among groups with differing opinions on such issues. These cultivation effects of Facebook use indicate a possible division in society that transcends competing viewpoints on contentious social issues. The ‘us against them’ trend contradicts the cultivation effects of television viewing where researchers claim that twentieth-century audiences ‘mainstreamed’ towards shared attitudes and beliefs. I have commenced doctoral studies to explore this division further and am now focusing on the climate change debate in Australia.