Social media as the pulse of national security threats : A framework for studying how social media influences young people's safety and security situation picture

Abstract

Social media is becoming more and more of a security threat. Dissatisfaction with the content and quality of the information flow is increasing not only at the nation-state level, but also at the level of people's everyday lives. Social media is one of the key channels for distributing disinformation and it has become a key instrument for influencing political activity in particular. It is difficult to single out individual contributors or culprits when it comes to the dissemination of disinformation due to the rhizomatic nature of the internet and the Western approach to using social media. The same principles such as ease of access to the network, democracy, freedom of speech, and knowledge equality have also made it easier to distribute disinformation. Presidents Trump and Putin have created a new global power order by using information for their own political purposes. At the same time, small countries like Finland have become increasingly dependent on the global information flow, and are likewise increasingly subjected to the proliferation of disinformation. Hence, social media has become an ever-more crucial factor in terms of national security as well as citizens' daily lives. This study focuses on social media as a platform for disinformation distribution, and aims to mirror the theoretical evolution of social media in the Finnish discussion about national security. The empirical data will be collected by surveying young Finns who will take part in compulsory military service. In this paper, we create the framework for the research project, which explores young people's agency in social media. We specifically address issues related to information influence, propaganda, and disinformation. Our perspective is on society's comprehensive security and we seek to investigate the way in which social media influences young people's safety and security situation picture. In addition, we explore whether the discussion in social media influences attitudes towards both personal safety and national security. The study is part of a broader Academy of Finland research project entitled "Media and Society".