Opinion
Society is polarizing at accelerating speeds. Evidence of this can be seen all over the world: extreme right and extreme left politicians are dominating the political landscape; fierce ideologies are on the rise and discrimination against minorities is still encountered way too often. Although polarization can have many causes, it is likely impacted by social media. As social media is a blessing for many, allowing them to stay connected with friends, family or work during times of social distancing – it certainly has a downside.
One of the most controversial aspects of social media are algorithmic recommendations, which are algorithms specifically designed to present certain content to the user, based on personal preferences. Perfect for when you can’t get enough of cat-videos, but more harmful when this content is controversial, polarizing or simply fake. As explained in the documentary The Social Dilemma, which aired on Netflix a few weeks ago, algorithmic recommendations do not possess an ethical component. The algorithm is designed with one goal, and one goal only: profit maximization for the giant tech companies. For example, Facebook’s algorithm is designed to maximize your time spent on the app, make you consume as much content as possible and thus maximize the advertisement income you generate for the company. A team of behavioral scientists, psychologists and neurologists think of clever ways to keep the user engaged and make them return to the platform as often as possible.
As a result of this algorithmic recommendations, social media users are presented mostly with content of which the algorithm predicts the user is interested in, after which they get stuck in a ‘filter bubble’ (Chaney 2020). The algorithm does this extremely well, as it uses machine learning to assess what content appeals to you. Moreover, the platform knows more about the user than you can possibly imagine, making accurate recommendations much simpler.
On average, internet users spend 2,5 hours per day on social media, with some teens spending up to 6 hours per day on the platforms (Metev 2020). A large portion of their wake-time is thus spent consuming biased, often one-sided information. This will likely increase polarization, due to this confirmation bias of reading, listening and watching other likeminded people daily. Inevitably, the gap between different groups in society grows. Users are stuck in their ‘filter bubble’, impacting their awareness of the world and leading to tremendous information asymmetry (Chaney 2020). People consume different news and different facts on a daily basis. So, if people are entitled to their own facts, thorough research and proper journalism will be overshadowed by fake news with flashy headlines.
This also explains the rise of conspiracy theories in the last few years. Algorithms know exactly what kind of users are susceptible to fake news and conspiracies, due to their prior search history, clicks and friends. The algorithms are not actively trying to convince users that the earth is indeed flat, they are simply providing you with content that you will consume, engage with and share with others. All of these actions enlarge engagement with the platform and therefore increase advertisement revenues. Whereas the flat earth conspiracy would have been a fantasy of five friends living in their mothers’ basements twenty years ago, social media allows it to spread to many millions, influencing celebrities, parents and teachers along the way. In the end, all that these conspiracies are doing is adding to a growing distrust in authorities, the media and scientist, which I find extremely worrying.
I honestly believe that overcoming the information asymmetry, spreading of fake news, polarization and the growing distrust in authorities, journalism and science will be one of the greatest challenges of our generation. And if you haven’t seen The Social Dilemma, I highly recommend you watch it. Interested to see what you think!
References:
Chaney, A., 2020. Why Our Media Silos Are Promoting Political Polarization. [online] Today.duke.edu. Available at: <https://today.duke.edu/2020/09/why-our-media-silos-are-promoting-political-polarization> [Accessed 30 September 2020].
Metev, D., 2020. How Much Time Do People Spend On Social Media In 2020?. [online] Review42. Available at: <https://review42.com/how-much-time-do-people-spend-on-social-media/#:~:text=The%20average%20US%20adult%20spends,was%20142%20minutes%20a%20day.> [Accessed 30 September 2020].
The Social Dilemma. 2020. [Netflix].
Hi Lars, it was an interesting to read your thoughts on this increasingly relevant matter. Social media has become increasingly more ingrained in our society. It’s where people connect with others, look for entertainment and more and more use it as a news source. Since social media is accessible for everyone, everyone can have an opinion about everyone and everything. It is therefore of utmost importance that the spreading of fake news are halted as people increasingly use social media as a news source.
I really like your analysis about algorithmic recommendations leading to people getting stuck in a ‘filter bubble’ as they are being shown certain content which appeals to them. While it is great that people are shown the type of content that they like, there are also dangers to that as you’ve mentioned using the ‘flat-earth’ example. Currently, we’re seeing that there has been increasingly more people engaging in conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19, leading to groups forming, for example in the Netherlands, like Viruswaanzin. I have no doubt this is a similar case whereby factors, such as information asymmetry and algorithmic recommendations fuel these conspiracy theories, ultimately leading to increasingly growing distrust in authorities.
I haven’t seen The Social Dilemma yet but it’s high on my to-watch list!
Thanks again for the interesting read!
Dear Lars,
It it crazy to think how everything is now controlled by these big tech companies. Using the vulnerabilities of people in order to feed them more similar news (fake or not) just to increase their profit can make you question how ethical these companies really are. Instead these big tech should focus on educating the people about fake news, and instead of creating filter bubbles, share the diversity of opinions that exists on the internet. That will allow people to understand the different point of view that exists and try to think out of the box. This would create a more equal and less bipolar world.
Dear Lars,
What an interesting finding! Honestly I’ve never thought that social media could have anything to do with social polarizing until I see your post. And it definitely made more sense to my now why the more you spend time on social media, the more you will be addicted to it. By constantly getting feeds and ideas that one is interested or might be interested, a little sign of thought can be reinforced and probably get transformed into a big move. And also there is a very interesting term “filter bubble” that so vividly described the groups that are somehow gathered because of their shared thoughts and isolated from other social groups, I could totally relate!
Dear Lars,
Thank you for this interesting read and the many insights into this (frightening) development. Although global wealth has increased by 66 percent between 1995 and 2014 (World Bank, 2018), societies seem to drift apart and become increasingly unhappy. If social media plays such an important role in this development, isn’t there a way to escape the bubble and enjoy an unbiased selection of information again?
Apparently, the only way to be completely free from the tech giants’ filter bubble is to stop using their services. But who wants to live without Google or any social media platform? Awareness might be the key to solve the problem. The more people know and understand about how their opinion is shaped and influenced by algorithmic recommendations, the more careful they will consume the information. Documentaries, like The Social Dilemma, could be turning points and finally lead people to look deeper than the first results of their Google search or utilize alternate sources.
Sources:
World Bank, 2018. World Bank Report Finds Rise In Global Wealth, But Inequality Persists. [online] World Bank. Available at: [Accessed 5 October 2020].
Hey Lars. It was very interesting to read your blog by coincidence just days after watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix myself. I also found it extremely worrying to see how biased and fake news and conspiracies are spread so easily to so many people, just because they have flashy and capturing headlines, and are causing polarization on mass scale. Like you said, the algorithms driving recommendations on social media have no ethical compass and are solely designed to keep a user’s attention for as long as possible.
This problem is inherently related to the profit models of the big social media companies and the problem most likely will not change unless the profit model changes that benefits from collecting as much data as possible to show people things that will interest them. One thing that was mentioned in the documentary that got me thinking was a possible tax on data collection as a solution. This would give the big social media companies a monetary incentive to not collect as much data as they can, which drives the recommendations.
Let me know what you think of the data collection tax. Very interesting blog!