Blogger's Note
I normally try to write objective responses to the articles we read in this class, but I found these articles much more meaningful when I applied them to my personal experiences as a liberal. So I just want to say to anyone who is reading, my responses this week are much more personal.
“The evolving role role of news on
Twitter and Facebook”
As I read this
article, my mind naturally gravitated towards thinking about my own experiences
with news on social media. I don’t have a Facebook anymore, but I remember that
occasionally I would click on some news topic that was trending, but that was
not why I used Facebook. I used Facebook to keep up with extended family and people
that I used to know.
I’ve only been
on Twitter for about a year now, but it is definitely where I get most of my
news. The best thing I’ve discovered about Twitter is what news shows up for me
is filtered by the people I follow, because the people I follow share news that
means something to them. So I get a “news feed” that is personalized for what I’m
probably most inclined to like or find interesting. And most of this news is
often more obscure. It’s not worthy of the title “Breaking News” on sites CNN, as
it includes information that would probably be deemed “boring” or “unimportant”
to the mainstream.
The only proper
news site visit regularly is CNN.com, every night on my iPhone before I go to
sleep. It’s something of a bedtime routine at this point. I don’t find I get
much out of it, because usually I’ve already found out about the things that
interest me via Twitter. For example, I found out about David Bowie on Twitter
immediately when that news broke in the U.K. (which was when most of the U.S.
was asleep), because I follow British people on Twitter (and Instagram, where I
actually first found out) and I was on social media before bed. So when I woke
up the later that day and everyone was freaking out, I was like, “Well, I
already knew that. And I’ve had time to sleep on it.”
Anyway, I like
how I’ve been able to get news on Twitter. I’d prefer it not change, although I
think it might because of the new algorithm timeline Twitter is implementing
which I’m not sure I will be able to opt-out of. (See: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexkantrowitz/twitter-to-introduce-algorithmic-timeline-as-soon-as-next-we#.pmkWz63MK)
“The science of protecting people’s
feelings: why we pretend all opinions are equal”
This was a very
enlightening article to read because I’ve often found myself in these types of
situations in classroom settings where I was in frustrating situations of
pretending to value the input of “incompetent” partners (even stretching myself
to find words of encouragement), as rude and arrogant as I realize that sounds!
I definitely
think there’s a value to getting a multitude of viewpoints when it comes to real-life
situations where decisions made will impact large communities. I also think
there is something to our efforts to try and avoid damaging an incompetent
person’s sense of worth, but there should definitely be a wider conversation
with the public that delineates situations where we should not do this (like in
fields like medicine where we should listen to the experts).
I think a
reaction to this innate behavior is the part of the appeal of people like
Donald Trump and others who speak with no sense of “political correctness.” I
see this attack on political correctness often in hot topic issues when people
(who I believe might be categorized as incompetent) want to justify cruel things
people say as jokes, or even satire. (Case in point: the the people who support Nicole Arbour and her "Dear Fat People" video which I won't link because that would only add to her views. If you're interested in what happened there, see: http://time.com/4028119/dear-fat-people-nicole-arbour/)
“Political polarization in the American
public”
This was another
article that encouraged me to evaluate my own experiences with the topic at
hand, this time politics. I am not afraid to admit I am extremely liberal in my
views, but I do not get any satisfaction in political activism because I
realize more people are moderate and conservative. I find politics a
frustrating realm to engage in meaningfully because, like morals, I see too
many factors hindering solutions that satisfy both sides. And I do not like
murkiness.
I also think I find
it comfortable to remain on the outer “edges of the political playing field” because
while I believe hardline conservatives are a dying breed and we millennials
just need to wait for the baby boomers to croak. I also guess I’m just optimistic that we as a
society are becoming more knowledgable and accepting of different people. The only threat I see
is the conservatives intimidating moderates with fear of “the other” or
anything that threatens the status quo that is maintained by inequality.
I think I am
apathetic about politics overall, so much so that I refuse to talk about the
candidates, even with likeminded people. I just the other day had to cut my
friend off because I did not want to talk about the primaries. No candidates
truly come out of these debates looking good, in my opinion. And I also don’t
like the passion that surrounds these discussions.
“The social network illusion that tricks your mind”
My main response
to this article is that this might prove why it is important to follow people
with different views and standpoints on issues. This article reminds me of the
Washington Post article about protecting everyone’s feelings, and how there’s a
criticism of equally weighting everyone’s input when there might be incompetence
leading away from better outcomes.
But when it
comes to this social network illusion, I think a variety of perspectives might
be really important for preventing only some, often polarizing ideas from
spreading.
“If you use Facebook to get your news,
please––for the love of democracy––read this first”
This article will
soon apply to Twitter. See recent news on the new algorithm Twitter will be
rolling out: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexkantrowitz/twitter-to-introduce-algorithmic-timeline-as-soon-as-next-we#.pmkWz63MK
“Facebook use polarizing? Site begs to differ”
I found it
interesting that liberals create more of an “echo chamber” by being less likely
to click on ideologically challenging articles. But it does ring true for me, as an educated
person who identifies as a liberal I do not see a value to reading articles
that have a conservative agenda because I often find conservative arguments
lacking in sound logic or promoting values I with which I can’t even pretend to
empathize. I do not find all people's opinions should be weighted equal. And I do not care if that make me seem narrow-minded. "The science of protecting people's feelings" article has emboldened me!
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