Reform voters more likely to see ‘divisive’ social media posts than ones from family and friends, study finds
Reform UK supporters are the group most likely to see content from brands and influencers on social media, rather than posts from friends and family, according to new research.
Online algorithms fuel “isolation and division,” according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank. According to the research, only 13 per cent of Reform UK voters have seen content from someone they know, compared to 23 per cent of Green Party voters.
To draw their findings, the researchers looked at user feeds on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, and TikTok. These were based on a representative survey of 1,000 people in the UK who were asked to categorize the top four posts of their most used social media feeds.
They found that among all participants, 18 percent of posts came from someone the user actually knew, 35 percent came from influencers, public figures or recommended content, and 29 percent came from ads and brands.
Senior research fellow at IPPR, Dr. Sofia Ropek-Hewson said: “Social media was once about connecting with friends and building communities, now it is increasingly about tracking and selling to strangers.
“These platforms not only reflect society, they shape it. By prioritizing content that connects us, they make us less visible and more isolated from each other.”
IPPR’s report called for the establishment of a new “public service model” social media platform, led by the BBC and European public service broadcasters, to provide an alternative to existing platforms.
The authors write that there has been a decline in “social” social media content as channels are optimized to attract users’ attention. They added that content has become “sticky”, with influencers and celebrities more likely to be promoted because users watch them for longer periods of time and are more likely to spend money engaging with their content.
Many algorithms were also “highly personalized,” meaning people were less likely to see what others saw. Researchers argue that this increases social fragmentation by “making it more difficult to form common beliefs and policies.”
Dr Ropek-Hewson said: “If we want a healthier, more democratic online world, we need to take back control from algorithms designed entirely for profit.”
IPPR is calling on the government to amend the Online Safety Act to tackle manipulative algorithms and give regulators such as Ofcom stronger powers over how platforms operate.
The UK government has recently pledged to tackle addictive social media features such as swiping or “streaks” that encourage casual use of apps.
Speaking last month, education minister Bridget Phillipson said some social media was “designed to grab your attention and keep your attention”.
“It’s one thing for an adult, but of course we have to think quite seriously about what this means for young children’s developing brains,” he told BBC One. Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
The comments come after the government announced new screen time guidance for parents of children under five, advising them not to spend more than an hour a day interacting with devices.
