Think about the term ‘newsfeed’. It’s the distribution of news. Most of us, however, are familiar with it in the terms of our Facebook or social media feed. Funnily enough, this is where many people now get their information or their news and frankly, it’s rather concerning.
Your newsfeed is different from mine, meaning I’m feeding myself the type of news I want to read and the same applies to you. On the surface, this is seemingly rather clever, like the equivalent of attending a self-service café where each of us goes to the same source for our course but we can select different options based on what we prefer. I’ll have the salad holding the dressing while you have the full roast dinner with all the trimmings. So why should that be a problem? It offers variety and choice. I can be selective and respond to my own individual needs, you yours and ultimately, we are both eating but if you decide to try the ‘conservative special’ accompanied with a side of ‘republican ideals’ and I went for a straight-up ‘liberalist agenda’ and a ‘glass of populism’, wouldn’t that change things a bit?
Let’s go back to the start. Our Facebook account began as a personal profile and let’s not forget, it’s still operating as one. We created our online persona or digital version of ourselves to connect with friends and loved ones around the globe, but it has rapidly grown into something much greater than this. Now it’s a platform where you can call, video chat, post live from wherever you are in the world, purchase goods and advertise your business, not least to mention a news source. That last phrase unnerves me in terms of social media, news source. What do you think of when you hear of it? Do you imagine a hub brimming with the likes of the BBC and Sky News and CNN or other outlets who describe themselves as such but don’t necessarily have the background, skills, ethics, are unregulated news sources and should more accurately be described under entertainment?
One the one hand, this is great in terms of people being educated about what’s happening in our world who perhaps may not actively engage otherwise. They may not have batted an eye at the infamous daily news broadcasts around them but now they are relatively informed about some of the bigger topics. Also, this connectivity often results in groups and gathers momentum for just causes. However, I feel the danger arises when we confuse our own feed as a balanced view of the world. I have decided what’s in my feed so mine might be full of news sites, memes and travel vlogs whereas yours might be full of fashion beauty and cute animals while another might be all about sports and entrepreneurship. If this is where we are going for our ‘news’, what’s it saying about our sources and how far does it go towards our balanced diet?
You could argue that it’s just the digital equivalent of buying a publication and in a sense, it is but I fear our concept of being connected, more educated and ‘in the know’ about what’s happening in the world is naïve if we rely on a source that has been hand designed to reflect only our favourite things. I fear a false sense of understanding is arguably at play, leading us all to believe we have a clue when we don’t.
Take my own my own newsfeed, for example, there isn’t a single right-wing, racist, misogynist element on it because I can’t connect with many of these concepts. That doesn’t mean that a Republican or a Trump supporter doesn’t have a feed full or pro-gun or pro-hunting posts. Therefore, each of us is consuming a somewhat distorted worldview with a single mention of the other seeming even furtherly outlandish by appearing on a feed in a place already saturated with a specific view. Arguably, this could lead some to believe this view or opinion is lesser in society because they don’t see, hear or read of it as much. Could it be argued that I’ll be more likely to believe my way of life is ‘right’ if I’m constantly surrounded by other media and people who agree with me rather than having certain opinions or worldviews other than my own regularly appear? Why would I want that if after all, this is my personal profile in the first instance and not a news source in the traditional sense? That’s exactly what it is, however, a newsfeed.
Have we stopped to think about how we see the world and how we define being connected to it? I also don’t know how many people know, particularly young people who have been brought up on a social media heavy diet – as opposed to my generation who grew up before the smartphone – if they are aware of how much they are part of a community of relentless target marketing. If my and I friend type the same thing into Google, we will get different search results for example. Better still, try scrolling through a friend’s newsfeed and see the difference. If you have ever created a Facebook targeted advert, you will know how detailed it can get in terms of personal information about a person. e.g. the specific area within a sector that they work or specific questions relating to a person’s relationship status. It’s frightening.
I’m not saying we have to like pages from across all categories to get a greater sense of our worldview but it’s definitely fair to say that we have created our own individual bubble that we spend several hours a day scrolling through that isn’t actually a reflection of reality. It started out as a profile, not a hard news source but it now operates as both. It’s the virtual version of your profile and it concerns me to think people see it as their only and true window to the world, and passively so as if it hasn’t been designed to track your likes, dislikes and activity for target marketing.
Credit where credit is due. The advent of social media has brought information to our fingertips like never before but I think as it advances, its role in our lives changes and as we are so immersed in it, it’s imperative to step back and ask ourselves, what am I feeding into and in turn what am I feeding myself?
Will I be changing my personal preferences and likes on Facebook to opposing views and groups from my own in a bid to challenge my personal worldview? No, I won’t because I don’t get my news from Facebook for this very reason. I still see it as a place where I can go to be presented with information and stories on topics I am interested in. It’s still in the category of entertainment for me and when I want my news, I go to reliable news outlets outside of my Facebook app. Am I encouraging you to do the same? No, I’m not. I’m just expressing my fears about the dangers this could mean for our assumptions about what’s happening in the world. After all, it’s a digital obesity crisis we have with the constant consumption and commitment to scrolling through our newsfeeds. I would encourage you though to swap a phone with a friend or family member, just to see how your Facebook feeds differ and what they are eating in comparison to you. It’s an interesting one.
*Originally posted on 22/02/18
