Digital Writing

You are in a media loop. Just admit it.

Week 5

You, yes, you are in a media loop. I am too. We all are; until we make a conscious decision to step outside of the loop and gain perspective. And, yes, some are more entrenched into one side of the media than others, but modern day algorithms and data collection make it almost impossible to escape a media bias when consuming content. When we do find genuinely reliable sources on media platforms, interacting with these platforms will enable your algorithm to continue cycling similar content; even if we are interacting with them negatively. In most forms of media whether it be tv, youtube, or instagram, the platform and its creators view engagement as the most important thing and will go at lengths to keep users to stay on the platform. Recycled content is basically inescapable as anything that gets high amounts of views is shown over and over again in a plethora of media.

All of this goes to say, we can perfectly curate our following or reporters to trust list, but we should always be gaining context to an issue. The book, Verified, discusses this issue on pages 111-113, highlighting how knowledge is a moving network, always gaining new perspectives and bits of information from field experts. Often when doing research we turn to someone or something we trust to report the issue at hand back to us, Verified describes the common end goal of this research to be “to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the issue of certainty… and the issue of consensus” (112). When turning to one person, we are really still seeking out the views of multiple experts and their opinions on the topic, even if we don’t realize it. 

This shows that we cannot always blindly trust the media bubble that is mainstream media platforms. There are lots of reputable reporters out there and they can be amazing starting points for gaining knowledge, but we need to remind ourselves the things they are reporting on are an accumulation of knowledge or opinions provided by different outlets, sometimes experts, sometimes not. It is our job to examine the context of these claims and make sure we understand the pool of knowledge at play on a topic before immediately reacting and taking the chance of spreading misinformation. Remaining ignorant to the biases at play, or ignoring your ability to easily fact-check things is what allows misinformation to flourish; especially when people react (engage with the post) before doing outside research.

“Taking in the full set of results before you click increases the chances you’ll find something reliable rather than clicking away at the first thing that catches your eye.” –Verified (100).

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2 responses to “You are in a media loop. Just admit it.”

  1. LKSOC1004 Avatar
    LKSOC1004

    It is interesting to think about how people are pretty aware of what the point of algorithms are. I am sure some do not consider it, but I think many people fully know that algorithms take what you show interest in and feed you more of it. The hard part is always keeping that in mind and acting accordingly. What I like about what you have said here is that it doesn’t push responsibility onto someone other than a given subject. While I do think that corporations should be held to a standard, people also have to have a standard and must be willing to put some effort into verification of information. I am not trying to blame the victim of an intentional campaign to make verifiable information harder to find, I do think that we can see a real problem with social media users in that they want to be able to passively consume information that they can trust. I totally understand why, but I think it is idealistic and the reality is that we have to be active in our engagement with online information. There isn’t another way to get ourselves out of the paranoia and trust issue hole we often find people in.

  2. goosefeet22 Avatar
    goosefeet22

    I like that you mention the ease of being able to fact check, because the reality is it actually is so easy, especially when you think about what using the internet or fact checking used to look like. There is no need to pull an encyclopedia (thank god) anymore, but it does feel like pulling teeth to try an get anyone to look up a claim. I hope with the rise of ‘analog’ and ‘physical media,’ we will see an increase in intention with internet use. I think bias of all things can be a complicating factor because people seem to be increasingly using it as an excuse to not believe anything ever instead of acknowledging its possible role in the creation of what they are seeing while still understanding the validity of a claim. These two things are very different, and it has become increasingly important to be a thoughtful consumer while actually consuming, because rejecting everything is such a contrarian perspective people seem to be increasingly holding.

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