Blog Post 6

In class discussion this week we covered the concept of filter bubbles. Filter bubbles are an algorithm used by many search engines and social media sites that are designed to show the viewer what they want to see. Using programming software, the algorithm is able to monitor what you have previously looked at, searched, liked, favorited, purchased, commented on, etc., to figure out how to best cater to you. This means that the links and articles that show up on Facebook or google searches are catered to your preference. Don’t believe me? Have you and your friends all search the same thing on google and see if you all get the same links to show up.

I am not sure when this feat of computer engineering was accomplished, but I would like to imagine it had good intentions. Its sounds like a great idea to have all of your news and information catered to your liking so that it is exactly what you are looking for. However, there can be serious consequences to a design that only shows you information that you are likely to agree with. I had mentioned in a previous blog about the dangers of deleting friends that voiced a different opinion than yours, for fear of creating an echo chamber of information and ideas that all match your own. This is exactly what filter bubbles do, and it is destructive to the process of forming ideas and news when you only ever get one side of the story.

The other concept reviewed in class this week was the capability of the internet to be addicting. Merriam-Webster defines addiction as “compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.” Many people think of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, or other drugs when the term addiction comes to mind. However, the internet can easily join this category, as it behaves in much of the same way as a drug. Habits can become addictive when they are perceived to feel “good,” usually with the release of a neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Most people would agree that using the internet has many advantages that make it feel “good” to be connected. But what happens when we become too reliant on the internet and its absence brings about panic and an agonizing feeling?

As a resident advisor in a dorm at college, I am in touch with many of the residents that live on campus. We often communicate through an app known as GroupMe, in which we can all talk to one another. When the campus wifi goes down, I know about it immediately. If not by experiencing it directly myself, then by the plethora of messages that light my phone up on GroupMe. Using their mobile data, residents flock to the group message to ensure that they are not the only ones impacted by this devastation. Although they can still connect to the internet through mobile data, the slowed speed and increased monthly bill makes it less convenient. It goes without question that, in my experience, people are attached to the internet at the hip. The question that remains is whether this blame is to be placed on the irresponsibility of the individual, or on society? I believe that society has made life without the internet today nearly impossible. Given that the framework for communications, news, information, and thousands of jobs are built around the use of the internet, it is no wonder there is such a visceral reaction to the lack thereof.


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