We always talk about the limitlessness of the internet. We take for granted the way Google has all the answers for us, Siri can plan out our lives, and social media makes us feel heard. As a society, we have become addicted to the instant gratification. But this access, this information at our fingertips has become a double-edged sword.
With all the information that is out there, it has become increasingly difficult to get through everything. We come to rely on Twitter, with its quick soundbites, or even Facebook, to deliver our news. We are quick to "like" and "share" and pass along our findings. Often times we don’t even read something all the way through.
In fact, "Slate" did a study that showed how many people are likely to read through an entire article. A data scientist assisted the writer in discerning that 38% of readers left after reading the headline, five more left at the point on the page they had to scroll, and so on. Most people, 62%, say they get their news from social media; 44% of adults say they get it from Facebook. Yet, approximately 70% of people on Facebook only read the headline of an article before commenting and sharing. And this goes for articles across all genres!
Furthermore, we do not always take the time to vet our sources. We saw this in the election with the spread of false information and misinformation by our media and our social media. Facebook and Google are both currently being held accountable for sharing fake news sites and stories. There was even the question about whether the misinformation led to the election outcome.
Did you notice any of these stories during the election? They’re all false, but they were shared as if they were true.
John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight’s segment on the President-Elect points out the media issue and how all media – not just mainstream media – failed to present all the facts in their news and point out Trump’s hypocrisy on certain issues. He gets into this around the tenth minute. Most importantly, he says, “There is no longer a consensus on what fact is.”
Meaning all the facts are not always being presented, and the facts that are being presented are not always checked. To the allegations, Google said they would ban the fake news websites from using their online advertising. Facebook updated its Facebook Audience Network policy to reflect that it would not share misleading or illegal content.
But realistically, it’s not up to Google or Facebook to control the flow of real information versus fake. That leads into all kinds of issues about censorship and Freedom of Speech that is very tricky gray area. It’s up to the consumer; you and I. What it comes down to is media literacy, and people’s inability to separate bias from fact. Media Literacy is “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.”
The reality is everything we read is bias towards one view or another. The important thing is to be able to get the facts out of the complex messages we are given. Rather than write something off as biased, we must recognize that bias and understand where the perspective is coming from. We must also be weary of the sites we click and read and take at face value. Since the election, many articles are popping up to share which news site are trustworthy or not.
Particularly when it comes to politics, we must allow ourselves to be educated on multiple sides of the same issue. In Oliver’s segment, he also says, “People get their news from echo chambers that reflect their views…A healthy media diet must go beyond that.” It’s not enough just to be conscience of like-minded opinions. And if you’re using social media like Facebook to get your news, well, Facebook knows your politic views and is feeding into that.
Moving forward from this election, communication and education is going to be critical. So it’s time to start being conscious of the information we are consuming and putting back out into the cyber world. Especially when we use it as a platform for a debate. Here's a good place to start: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10eA5-mCZLSS4MQ...
