Abstract: While acknowledging that, on balance, social media can have a positive effect on democracy, the author also examines the other side of the argument, specifically the perils of polarisation. In doing so, he offers a critical view of certain aspects of the policies of social media companies that seek to offer a “personalized experience” which he argues risks keeping users in an “information cocoon”. However, he notes that there are other policies that counter this trend, which instead seek to keep users informed, and which must be pursued in order to ensure that social media is a tool that can make democracy work better.