America is an outlier: New polling by the Pew Research Center signifies that the U.S. is a worldwide outlier in relation to majority attitudes towards social media.
“Folks in rising economies are notably more likely to say social media has superior their democracy,” studies Pew. “Assessments are particularly optimistic in Nigeria and Mexico, the place practically eight-in-ten (77% every) say social media has had a optimistic impact on democracy.”
In different places, like Poland, “86% of adults underneath 40 say social media has benefited democracy of their nation, in contrast with 56% of these ages 40 and older.” Youthful folks are usually extra more likely to report optimistic perceptions of social media’s worth for democracy, ditto with the richer and extra educated.
General, giant shares of respondents say they imagine social media has been useful to democracy—76 p.c of Singaporeans, 74 p.c of Indians, 68 p.c of South Africans, 65 p.c of Israelis, and 63 p.c of Argentines—whereas respondents within the U.S. largely disagree, with 64 p.c saying “social media has been extra of a nasty factor for democracy of their nation” in contrast with 34 p.c who say it has been extra of a great factor.
Would possibly this be as a result of folks use social media in another way by nation? Does, for instance, WhatsApp messaging—a way of staying in contact with giant teams of family and friends common in much of the world, however much less used within the U.S.—rely? Would possibly attitudes be coloured by U.S. media protection of the difficulty (together with Russia election interference panic)? Does the notion of social media’s worth must do with the place every nation is on the adoption curve of a given platform?
Perhaps within the U.S. we’re on the level the place we take a few of the worth with no consideration—the benefit with which we entry new data, the minimal effort it takes to remain in contact with household, the little mood-lifting advantages that come from content material we authentically wish to devour.
Making Elizabeth Warren’s desires come true: I remorse to tell you that the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) is at it once more (with some cheerleading by a certain Democratic senator from Massachusetts, naturally): As of this week, the company has sued to dam an almost $25 billion deal between Kroger and Albertsons, two grocery chains that wish to merge. If they’re allowed to undergo with the deal, they might then management about 13 p.c of the grocery market, in comparison with Walmart’s 22 p.c (with Costco, Amazon, and the like controlling the opposite giant parts).
“Grocery costs are nonetheless too excessive,” writes Warren on Twitter. “One cause: too few rivals for large grocery chains.” Not likely—it is inflation, despatched skyrocketing in no small half by the federal authorities’s insane COVID-era stimulus packages, that is actually resulting in excessive grocery costs. But in addition, Warren’s complete argument is that we want extra viable rivals to deliver costs down…which is precisely what a Kroger-Albertsons combo can be.
This feels just like the JetBlue-Spirit deal another time: two smaller operators becoming a member of collectively to aim to current significant competitors to the highest 4 or 5 companies which might be at the moment controlling the market, being thwarted by the federal authorities for… no cause that is sensible. Thanks, regulators.
Scenes from New York: “A program designed to resettle 1,250 households throughout New York State has moved solely about 170 households, barely easing the burden on town’s shelter system,” report Dana Rubinstein, Andy Newman, and
QUICK HITS
- Really gorgeous revelations from this piece in The Atlantic about dysfunction at The New York Occasions and the infamous Tom Cotton op-ed:
“What’s your favourite sandwich?”
“The spicy hen sandwich from Chick-fil-A.”
“Incorrect!” pic.twitter.com/4A72FSL11N— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) February 26, 2024
- “A lot of my colleagues have been clearly anxious that lending credence to the laptop computer story might damage the electoral prospects of Joe Biden and the Democrats,” writes Adam Rubenstein within the above piece. “However ranging from a spot of occasion politics and assessing how a selected story might have an effect on an election is not journalism. Neither is a obscure unease with troublesome topics.”
- Forgive me, however I merely don’t assume it’s truthful to refer to at least one’s personal son as an “oppressor-in-training”:
Glad this mother is open to not canceling her teenage sons on the desk as they assume by life. However she additionally says younger males “anxious about saying the mistaken factor” in a university classroom are experiencing a “faux drawback.” Would you are feeling okay differing in her classroom? pic.twitter.com/HEX6MnzKLL
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) February 26, 2024
- Boeing is going through the wrath of regulators.
- From a brand new Nationwide Bureau of Financial Analysis paper: “Lows in US client sentiment that can’t be defined by unemployment and official inflation are strongly correlated with borrowing prices…” a.ok.a. it is rates of interest staying excessive which might be resulting in a pervasive sense that the economic system is not all proper.
- Penguins in Antarctica may face devastation from chicken flu.
- This particular reference will attraction to love 5 folks whole however I AM ONE OF THEM:
Bitcoin is nearing costs at which I begin to severely contemplate buying the whole set of Louis Vuitton baggage from The Darjeeling Restricted pic.twitter.com/6KhOfTPIro
— nic ???? carter (@nic__carter) February 26, 2024
- The “free Palestine” protester who I reported on yesterday? Nicely, the discourse surrounding his self-immolation has spiraled uncontrolled:
I’ve received a request for remark in to the AFSP, however the concept it is sound journalistic apply to deviate from (what I view as) well-grounded pointers on avoiding suicide contagion as a result of… you like the trigger the individual supposedly dedicated suicide to help… uhhhhhhh
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) February 26, 2024
