If you’re appalled by the riots at the Capitol this week, social media may be to blame.
We have become an increasingly divided country and world. With more people getting their news from social media (namely Facebook) and the development of new and increasingly contrasting media outlets, we have a variety of realities we see.
If you don’t follow a variety of news sources, if you only see things that show you what you already agree with, or if you are shown things over and over – you take what you see as fact. This online world that is shown to you (your Facebook feed) starts to looks like reality.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Facebook algorithm. Let’s break that down.
The Facebook algorithm tracks what kind of posts you engage with (like, comment or share). Then it shows you more posts that are similar to what you engage with in order to keep you on the app to ultimately show you more ads (so they make more money).
And over the years, with this data they collect on your engagements, they can more easily guarantee ad placement to their advertising customers and push ads on you even more effectively, which means more money for all (except you).
But because they know what you want to see, you get shown that. So if you agree with Trump – you will be shown more of his ads and posts from media sources that publish posts of the same mentality. Also, the more outrageous the post, the more engagement it gets and the more it gets spread.
So if you are confused and ask yourself, “Why are people so stupid and disconnected? How could they believe the stuff they are saying?”
Well, they think the same about you. “How could you believe when I’m seeing all these ‘facts’ on my social media feed.” (Whether these facts are true or not, they are believed as fact.)
An analogy by Jaron Lanier, computer scientist and author of “10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now” that I like explains this more clearly. When you go to a Wikipedia page, it’s the same webpage with the same information whether I see it or you see it. But our social media feeds are completely different depending on our friends, family, what we follow, and what we engage with.
When you get your news from a social media feed, you are being shown something different – different news, different facts – than me. If we watched the same local news station, we would understand the world in a similar way.
Since we don’t do that, we have to navigate a world where we all understand completely different realities.
So that leaves us in a very hard place. It’s a relief that Twitter and Facebook has now banned Trump’s tweets, but it’s too late. That damage is done and we have to come back from it somehow.
What we can do:
Talk to people. But most importantly, people who have different opinions than you. You will be able to relate with them in some way, whether it’s having a favorite show or just living in the same town: we are all humans with struggles and emotions.
Get news from diverse sources – don’t just consume media that you agree with.
Support for your local news sources. Don’t let your local city/county paper drown in the Facebook algorithm and compete with all other content for your attention. Buy your local paper, follow local news reporters from credible sources.
We’ve lost the ability to understand each other, the world, and ourselves. Social media is partly responsible, but unlike Jaron argues, you don’t have to stop your social media use, but be aware of what you are looking at and question it.