I scanned the top of the Buzzfeed page this morning, lost in thought. What kind of story did I want to read? I’m offered a collection of heartwarming proposal tales, ways to improve my relationship, or 15 work horror confessions that are sure to make me cringe. And then there, buried among the other stories was one, one article about how a young woman survived genital mutilation. What? I took a second look to confirm that I wasn’t crazy but there it was. An article dealing with one of the most horrific and tragic atrocities to take place in the world today and it was placed directly next to a story on how alcohol affects my poop.
I was stunned and taken aback until I realized that I had seen this format before. I pulled up my Facebook page and went to the section marked “Trending”. There the things that are being talked and posted about appear as they “trend”. While Facebook may have little control over what is being posted on their site, the way it is presented is truly concerning.
The hashtag #PrayersforJacob the story of a young boy shot and killed by a gunman at his primary school is next to stories about how Spotify is now personalizing playlists for users and an article about how a ride at an amusement park was shut down. An old photo of a father in the Belgian Congo staring at the severed hand and foot of his child is placed near a story on how the CEO of Blackberry promises to maintain the QWERTY keyboard design on all new devices. And article detailing the fact that our earth will never again have environment friendly carbon levels is next to a story on the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Do you see what is happening? Do you understand that this is not about what is trending or popular? This is about the fact that if any news about the world affects me in a negative way or makes me uncomfortable, I can simply click on another one next to it. Something lighter perhaps, something that doesn’t cause me to think or feel or care. It’s about the fact that women being mutilated and kids being shot is placed on the same level of importance as Hillary Duff’s new relationship with her personal trainer. If the fact that we are becoming completely desensitized and uncaring towards other humans and our world does not scare you then please be my guest and click on another less troubling article.
No it is not a government conspiracy or a ploy by Facebook. This is what we wanted, this is what we have created, a world in which we never have to be inconvenienced by the truth. A world where we never have to be bothered by the fact that there are people who are suffering or problems we can help fix.
A study published in May of 2016 by the Pew Research Center found that more than 40 percent of American adults get their news from Facebook. There is some debate as to whether or not Facebook has real people who decide which stories are “trending” or if the feed is based upon an algorithm that simply promotes topics that are being talked about most.
Perhaps the real problem is the fact that we let Facebook tell us what it thinks we need to know. These stories are ranked based upon what Facebook thinks we want to see. We seem to care more about things when we know others care about them as well. If it’s a trending topic, it must be important.
I’m not asking you to boycott Facebook or stop looking at the trending page all together, I’m simply encouraging you to find a second source for your news. Download a news app that will send you notifications of breaking news. Turn on a news channel while you are at the gym, or maybe even buy a newspaper.
Do not let the trending topics of the day or the small stories affect the way in which you view the world. If you find a topic or a story that scares, or concerns you, look into it. Do your research; find ways to get involved. Be a part of the solution, not part of a generation being brainwashed into believing we have no say. We have so much more potential than that.
