With the most recent escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian war, I interviewed several students on the role of social media in how they viewed the conflict. 

Social media is an increasingly popular news source in the 21st century, and the metaphorical floodgates have been lifted on every platform from X (formerly twitter) to Instagram Reels regarding the ongoing conflict in the Gaza strip leaving young people more exposed than ever before to information about it. True or not.  

I interviewed some students on how social media affected their perception of the war and the article is not supposed to support any belligerent in the conflict. 

Noah told me he received “about three quarters [of news about the war]” from social media and although he had “always [been sympathetic] to Palestine,” photos and videos that have recently flooded social media showing the impact on ordinary Palestinians had “definitely increased his support [of the Palestinians]” 

A student, who wished to remain anonymous, told me that they “already knew a lot [about the war]” but thought social media was a “good way for getting information out.” Additionally, they thought that social media raised awareness for the war and that it had a more positive impact than a negative one. 

Ralph said his only interaction with the conflict was through gaming where some users had ‘Clan tags’ voicing their support for a side and in ‘in-game chats’ where politics had leaked through. He told me that he only saw content on the Gaza conflict rarely and that social media platforms only recommended it to you if you “search for it.” 

Social media is set to be a dominant source of information in the future and its arrival has radically changed the way we receive news. whether this is for better or worse is to soon to judge.