Social media outlets allow people to express their ideas to an expanded audience. The online platform these websites and apps provide also generates an online presence that people remain personally detached from. Although these factors do lend to more genuine articulations of people’s thoughts and ideas, they simultaneously produce a platform for detrimental opinions, validated by other users.

Whether it is birther tweets or insults toward women, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has become known for projecting unproductive ideas on social media. Not only did he have a surprising number of thoughts on the Robert Pattinson-Kristen Stewart breakup in 2012, but he has also oversimplified his opponent’s qualifications, claiming that “if Hillary can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?” These tweets are a testament to the dangerous platform social media creates. Trump’s tweets receive massive attention on social media, giving further incentive for his lewd and offensive presence on those outlets.

Twitter and other platforms allow direct involvement in politics. During Monday night’s debate, people were able to spread their views on the points made by both Trump and Hillary Clinton. In the environment of a college campus, social media allows students to express their opinions. Social platforms make social gatherings more convenient, enabling more people to become involved on campus. The downside to social media is that they create space for all to think whatever they want. The age of the internet has spawned a population of people who have access to information that only supports their way of thinking. This brings to mind Donald Trump Jr.’s “Skittles” tweet last week and the offensive comparison made to Syrian refugees.

Here, we see a quintessential example of the vacuum-sealed pockets of social media in which facts do not matter and a receptive audience can be found for even the most outlandish and false statements.

The Black Lives Matter movement has gained considerable attention because of its ability to spread its voice via social media. The accessibility of this information has also created contrary movements, such as All Lives Matter. Despite the existence of All Lives Matter being utterly counterproductive, it does continue to attract the attention of people who use social media and choose to ignore the claims made by the original movement.