Digital Social Relations as a Path to Critical Awareness among Youth: A Critical Deductive Analytical Approach in Light of the One-Dimensional Man Theory

Abstract

This desk-based theoretical study aims to analyze the trajectory of digital social relations that emerge from youths’ use of social media, in light of Herbert Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man theory. The study departs from the profound transformations in the technological structure of contemporary societies, where digital platforms have become dominant spaces for producing consciousness and organizing social relations, thereby reinforcing forms of fast, superficial interaction based on consumption and repetition at the expense of rational dialogue and critical thinking. The research problem is framed around how these digital relations contribute either to building an independent, critical social awareness or to reproducing passive integration and one-dimensional consciousness among youth through mechanisms that normalize ready-made ideas and restrict possibilities of refusal and questioning. The study adopts a deductive critical approach, through an in-depth analysis of Marcuse’s theoretical texts and contemporary sociological and philosophical literature, in addition to drawing on findings of previous studies related to social media and critical thinking. The study concludes that digital social relations hold a dual potential: they can, on the one hand, expand horizons of awareness and provide opportunities for cognitive interaction, yet, on the other hand, under market and algorithmic logics, they tend to produce adaptive, one-dimensional consciousness unless supported by conscious critical practices. The study finally emphasizes the need to integrate education for critical thinking and digital awareness into educational institutions and cultural programs, in order to promote a more emancipatory and responsible use of social media.