Social Media and Critical Thinking

Now that you’ve had some overview of what critical thinking is from Dianne’s blog post Monday, I’m going to talk about the major offender, social media. Social media is great for keeping up with friends and family that may be strewn all over the map. But what kind of effect does it have on us as people? I personally have to deal with social media on the daily, so I really strive to find out what’s real, and what’s not. It’s difficult, especially with all the bias that we are subjected to.

Echo Chamber, Anyone?

As an avid user of social media, I can tell you it creates an echo chamber. An echo chamber, is a space where opinions are amplified and echoed. Basically, it leads you to believe that everyone in your sphere of family and friends holds your values. This sounds like a great thing, but actually it leads you to believe that most people hold your opinions. On the surface, you might think this isn’t so horrible. However, when you run into a dissenting opinion, you are shocked by it. Instead of being open minded, you irrationally believe that no one thinks the way this individual thinks.

And not only are your family and friends part of the echo chamber, but your own actions online contribute to it! By simply interacting online, algorithms record and break down information. They are using it to target advertising directly tailored to you. Even the news that I see online is specifically meant for me. Think about it this way – we live in a society that encourages closed mindedness to new ideas, and social media reflects this negative aspect.

Comfort Zone Economics

When advertisers and news sources pander to me in my comfort zone, I am more likely to buy and/or consume information targeted to me. Social media uses this to target everything! So how do we break out of it? How can we use social media without being victims of what I like to call “Comfort Zone” targeting? Critical thinking, baby!

Traditionally, reporters used to ask the questions used to support critical thinking in their articles. These days, finding unbiased new stories is like looking for a needle in a haystack. But, don’t give up hope yet. By asking unbiased questions and doing research, you can break out of the idea that everyone agrees with you. Because news flash – they don’t.

Asking Questions

Here are some questions that I use (daily!) to ferret out the truth in what I read. By asking these questions and really thinking about the answers, you can break out of your false comfort zone of created content and consume some actual truth!

• Who’s telling this story? What is the track record for truthful reporting from this source? If you’ve never heard of the source, odds are that no one else has, either. Look for news from sources that are unbiased (looking at you, MSNBC and FOX News) and have nothing to gain by filling up your head with untrue or inflamed news. Real news sources that are unbiased are almost impossible to find, so try to stick with local news, which is less swayed by big interests.
• What are they telling me? Is what they are telling you shocking and crazy sounding? If it is, do some easy research on sites like Snopes or other sites that are dedicated to spreading unbiased news. And don’t just discount opinions and views that aren’t your own. Try to be open minded to the fact that what you think may be wrong .
• Is this “click bait“? Clickbait is “news” that is specifically designed to get you to click on it. I fall victim to it from time to time, as much as I try to avoid it. By just clicking on the link, they are getting ad revenue at the expense of your thought processes. It’s usually crazy claims that you just have to know if it’s real. And when you click on it, it’s filled with ads and false promises. If it’s too good (or bad) to be true, look it up on Google. I usually use an independent site to verify information that seems too much to be real.

Sifting Through

By taking all information with a grain of salt, we can sift through the news to find the truth. It’s a sad state of affairs that we’ve come to this point, when we literally have the world’s information at our fingertips. But honestly, that’s just made sheep out of us, and many of us blindly “eat” whatever is put in the trough in front of us. Don’t be a sheep!

Watch out for your fellow man/woman, too! If you hear something from someone else that sounds shady, encourage them to use critical thinking and research to find out the truth. Usually you can tell the truth because it makes sense! If you see things that don’t make sense, give it a closer look before you spread it around. Be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

What are some of the crazy claims you’ve seen made on social media? How have you been tricked? Please share your experiences, strengths, and hopes in the comments below! Until next time!

Photo Credits:

Grand Canyon – LW Yang

Thinking Statues – Rui Fernandes