We live in bubbles. Our bubbles usually reinforce our own worldview. The gravity of this was highlighted to me in a recent episode of CBC's Ideas called: Screened Off, The Insular Web.
I knew that Facebook had an algorithm that curated what I saw, I had never considered how that would impact the way I viewed the world. This algorithm is programmed to give me things that I will like. Things that I agree with. If I relied on social media for news, I would have a very skewed view of the world. I'd think that everyone had the same perspective that I did.
This helped me to understand how individuals can be so dogged in their views. If the average person spends 2 hours daily on social media that is purposefully showing them a biased stream of stories, it is no wonder the world is becoming so polarized.
Where is the balance in the media that we are consuming? As one person on the CBC Idea's panel stated, journalists used to talk about a balance media diet. That we needed some carrots in addition to our chocolate cake. Social media feeds that are curated to reinforce our own biases are likely giving us a a high dosage of junk food.
Time will tell if the "let them eat cake" approach to curating social media feeds leads to an even more divisive society.
Being a Force for Good 