Here are two articles by Craig and Marc Kielburger as they discuss the use of the internet and how it affects what you read, see, and hear due to algorithms.
Search engines can seem like magic. You have a question; the Internet has the answer.
But not all search results are equal. Everything, from your location to previous searches and your social media habits, builds a little content bubble. A personalized corner of the World Wide Web has been curated just for you.
A travel writer from Vancouver may get restaurants and must-visit sites when they type in “Venezuela,” while a human rights lawyer from New York will see news of the latest political crackdown.
Often, we don’t see the search results that defy our online habits, which is convenient when it comes to restaurant recommendations but problematic for staying informed. When the majority of us get our information, we don’t know what we’re missing.
According to a 2016 Reuters Institute study, 75 per cent of Canadians get their news online, and nearly half of us (45 per cent), from social media. More than just news, the Internet is where we turn for entertainment, research and inspiration.
The Internet was meant to be this great contest of ideas. But instead of expanding our perspectives, the Internet shows us what it thinks we want to see. Is it also dividing us?
The newest generation of algorithms, pieces of code that function like behind-the-scenes instructions, are ranking our preferences and filtering content online.
These algorithms are the reason you know when your favourite band is in town, when the store you like is having a sale—and why it seems like all of your Facebook friends share your political views. Facebook will prioritize posts to your feed that you’re more likely to agree with based on your likes. Our feeds quickly turn into echo chambers instead of thought-provoking dialogue.
In the battle for clicks, these algorithms are everywhere on the web—search engines, mainstream news sites, your Netflix account. And this personalization is pushing us even further apart at a time when fake news and polarizing political debates already divide us.
Politics, race and gender all appear differently through the lens of our bubbles.
Eli Pariser, author of the bestseller The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What We Read and How We Think (Penguin, 2012), recently underscored the issue while speaking with The Guardian: “Some of these problems that our fellow citizens are having kind of disappear from view without our really even realizing.”
Opening your online experience to more voices could make you more engaged, informed and, ultimately, empathetic toward perspectives different from your own.
Privacy settings offer a first line of defence. But why not challenge yourself to break the algorithm by shifting your online habits?
The algorithms respond to our clicks. So, click away.
Click on ideas and stories you disagree with.
Find voices on social media from different communities.
Watch movies and visit websites that challenge your assumptions.
We all have to be active participants, curating our own diverse media by seeking out different voices to become more informed.
Information is at our fingertips—but a well-rounded, informed perspective on the issues of our time is harder to come by these days.
Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day.
http://o.canada.com/life/living-in-a-digital-bubble
Nov. 21, 2017 "Think before you click": Today I found this article by Craig and Marc Kielburger in the Edmonton Journal:
A man gapes over his shoulder at the pretty girl who just passed him on the street. Beside him, his girlfriend glares in outrage. The punchline is in the captions: the head-turner is the new iPhone X, while the jilted girlfriend is the already-passé iPhone 8.
Nov. 21, 2017 "Think before you click": Today I found this article by Craig and Marc Kielburger in the Edmonton Journal:
A man gapes over his shoulder at the pretty girl who just passed him on the street. Beside him, his girlfriend glares in outrage. The punchline is in the captions: the head-turner is the new iPhone X, while the jilted girlfriend is the already-passé iPhone 8.
You’ve probably seen — and shared — some version of this popular “distracted boyfriend” meme on Facebook or Instagram. It’s meant to be a commentary on the superficial fixation that comes with shiny new things.
But what else does the image say?
People love memes, those attention-grabbing images and zinger captions on our social media feeds. Science has shown we get a dose of happy brain chemicals like dopamine every time we share the latest LOLcat or Gene Wilder’s smirking sarcastic Willy Wonka.
Russian hackers created and planted propagandist memes to inflame both sides in last year’s U.S. presidential election. Even memes not generated by meddling foreign governments are hurting political debate on social media, argues Ottawa-based digital media consultant Mark Blevis.
In place of written comments that require at least some thought, people deploy dueling “crooked” Hillary and Trump “covfefe” images to express their opinion.
“Memes replace thoughtful conversation and prevent us from finding common ground between different opinions,” Blevis said.
Beyond politics, seemingly innocuous and funny memes can carry negative messages. Take our “distracted boyfriend” example. Eric Alper, music industry blogger and social media
guru, poses an important question:
“If you took away the words, what would you think of this picture?”
Now it’s two sexist implications all in one image — a man ogling a woman in the street, and the tired stereotype of a jealous girlfriend.
Racist groups have even turned to humour memes to spread their poison — like hijacking cartoon Pepe the Frog.
‘Things that make us laugh can distract us from donning our critical thinking hats. We hit Like and share content without considering the potential harm we’re helping to spread.
“Humour is the best way to get a message across — good or bad,” Alper said.
People who would never dream of telling a sexist joke at the family dinner table will share a picture of a woman in a business suit with the caption: “Makes more money than you, still expects you to pay for everything.”
Share the wrong meme, and you could be bullying someone without even knowing it.
Many images are stolen from personal profiles and websites. In 2014, an American travel blogger wrote about the trauma of having a selfie pilfered and turned into a viral anti-Obamacare meme.
We don’t want to get totally down on memes. Many are legitimately hilarious. But part of social media literacy is recognizing that what’s funny on the surface may not be so amusing underneath.
Ask yourself:
Would I tell this joke to my parents?
When you take the words away, what message does the picture convey?
Does this meme really contribute to this political discussion, or am I just trolling?
So think before you share, or the next person mocked in Willy Wonka’s meme could be you.
http://www.timescolonist.com/life/global-voices-beware-of-hidden-messages-in-memes-think-before-you-click-1.23098726
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