Jakob Ohme argues that online social networks have become an important part of our democracies:
Facebook and other social media platforms play a major role in our political life. Many citizens receive their daily news from social media, while circulation numbers of newspapers and audience shares of news broadcasts are in decline. This is especially true for young citizens. They live in a world in which news is not something they actively have to seek out. Instead, they rely on news finding them, through push mechanisms on social media platforms.