I've been reading Clay Johnson's book, The Information Diet, and also listening to what Eli Pariser has to say (he wrote The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You, which I haven't read yet). I think Johnson got some of his ideas for his book from Pariser, but no matter. They're both making the same points, which has to do with how the Internet (Google, Yahoo! News, Facebook, are mentioned specifically) use sophisticated algorithms to basically give users the information they want (or what the Internet thinks they want) based on their browsing history.
So many unclear pronouns in that paragraph. Sorry.
The point these two men and others are making is that the Internet is, if not creating, then it's perpetuating the polarization that exists in society. The phrase I'm hearing is confirmation bias, which is "the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions" (I got this definition from Science Daily). What's going on is the Internet somehow keeps track of our online activity, our "clicks"--articles we read online, links we follow, websites we visit, articles or sites we "like" on Facebook, etc.--and then, when we search for information in a search engine like Google, the top results conform to the kinds of links we've clicked on before. To illustrate this, Pariser asked two friends to Google the word "Egypt" and then show him the search results. One friend's results were all about the political uprising in Egypt while the other friend's results had to do with pyramids and traveling to Egypt. Same search term, two different users, completely different results.
Pariser calls this trend "concerning" since it appears what's going on is when we search for information on the Internet, we're not getting what's true or current or relevant about something but rather what conforms to what we want to be true about something. Confirmation bias.
Certainly, we can take control of our searches. There are strategies for forming queries that filter out some aspects and include another. And yes, those are the strategies I teach in my English 100 classes. But not everyone has the time, interest, inclination, or patience, let alone the cognizance to either recognize or appreciate the need for such deliberate use of the Internet. The very fact that we're searching the Internet for something suggests that we're in a hurry. The analogy to fast food that Clay Johnson uses in his book is apt: a quick burger satisfies the empty belly much the way a random Google search satisfies the unfocused mind.
For the record, both Pariser and Johnson are lefties. Pariser founded MoveOn.org and Johnson started Blue State Digital. But I like them anyway! They both seem to appreciate and even respect the notion that there's more than one way to view the world. After he left MoveOn.org, Pariser went out of his way to befriend conservatives so he could hear what they had to say (he has an interesting story about how Facebook "hid" his conservative friends from his newsfeeds).
Contrast this with most people on the left who not only don't befriend conservatives let alone listen to their viewpoints (test it: ask your favorite lefty which conservative author he listens to or reads--I'm willing to bet they have no answer), but actually dismiss conservatives altogether. Some even go so far as to label conservatives dangerous and their views taboo (that's the latest from Al Gore regarding people who challenge the idea that human behavior is responsible for global warming). And the current drama in Washington, D.C. over the president's flawed health care law has Democrats calling Republicans terrorists and anarchists. The president's own spokesman told Jake Tapper on CNN News that they won't talk with people who have bombs strapped to their chests. So much for actually listening to the other side.
Anyway, here's a 15-minute interview with Pariser. I'll add his book to my list of things to read next.
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