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Re:Kiel Institute Analysis: US Americans pay 96% of tariff b... by Aurornis on Monday January 19, 2026 @12:45PM (#46682076)
> If people stopped spending hours each day scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook feeds,

The age groups who spend the most time on TikTok and Instagram are the least likely to have voted for this administration.

There were populist demagogues getting elected before social media and cell phones, too. This isn’t a modern thing.

I know everyone wants to use this moment in politics to blame their own pet peeves, but blaming social media junkies for this election just isn’t consistent.

Re:Kiel Institute Analysis: US Americans pay 96% of tariff b... by PNewling on Monday January 19, 2026 @12:56PM (#46682250)
The age groups who spend the most time on Facebook feeds though are the most likely to have voted for this administration...
Re:Kiel Institute Analysis: US Americans pay 96% of tariff b... by H1Supreme on Monday January 19, 2026 @03:29PM (#46684089)
Exactly. The 60 and 70 year olds I spend time with, women especially (not a dig, but an observation), are just as addicted to facebook as the Instagram / TikTok crowd are to those platforms.
Re:Kiel Institute Analysis: US Americans pay 96% of tariff b... by lovlar on Monday January 19, 2026 @01:36PM (#46682754)
I dont hink doom scrollers are the root cause, but I belive in that we would have a better political debate and better successful politicians if people who spend a lot of time in feeds were aware of the income they generate for platform companies, and how this fuels the attention economy, which in turn amplifies these problems. One of them being: it incentivizes politicians to be populistic in order to be heard through the noise and be successful.