What do we do about information polarization in the internet age?

[Berkut]

I was thinking about this -


Let's operate under the assumption that it is the case that the internet age has seen a shift in the manner that media is consumed such that the "information silo" effect often speculated on, where aero cost access to information does in fact actually mean that people become (overall) less prone to seeing multiple views, and able to simply reinforce their own (sometimes very extreme) viewpoints.


This is a human failing, not a technology failing. In hindsight, it isn't even that surprising. The human predisposition to simply using information to reinforce their conclusions, rather than forming conclusions based on information is pretty well understood at this point.


What worries me is that I don't see a solution, even in theory. It kind of flies in the face of my presumed Humanism, my presumption that more information is good, and people will make better decisions the more information they have access to...rather it seems like we were possibly actually better off when technology was such that there was a filter that restricted information (this of course presumes that those doing the filtering do so responsibly, and in many cases we know that THAT isn't true anyway).


Is this something that will eventually correct itself, it just takes time? Will humans simply learn to be better and more objective consumers of information, but right now we are smack in the very beginning of that painful learning process, so we cannot really see it?

[The Brain]

I'm not convinced it's a significant problem. In the 80s people were reading newspapers they agreed with and stayed away from the ones they disagreed with.

[Phillip V]

I was thinking about this -


Let's operate under the assumption that it is the case that the internet age has seen a shift in the manner that media is consumed such that the "information silo" effect often speculated on, where aero cost access to information does in fact actually mean that people become (overall) less prone to seeing multiple views, and able to simply reinforce their own (sometimes very extreme) viewpoints.


This is a human failing, not a technology failing. In hindsight, it isn't even that surprising. The human predisposition to simply using information to reinforce their conclusions, rather than forming conclusions based on information is pretty well understood at this point.


What worries me is that I don't see a solution, even in theory. It kind of flies in the face of my presumed Humanism, my presumption that more information is good, and people will make better decisions the more information they have access to...rather it seems like we were possibly actually better off when technology was such that there was a filter that restricted information (this of course presumes that those doing the filtering do so responsibly, and in many cases we know that THAT isn't true anyway).

Leadership from enlightened individuals at the family to national levels.

Is this something that will eventually correct itself, it just takes time? Will humans simply learn to be better and more objective consumers of information, but right now we are smack in the very beginning of that painful learning process, so we cannot really see it?

Death.

[LaCroix]

not sure enough people really use the internet enough to where this is a problem

(edit) maybe facebook clickbait

[Valmy]

not sure enough people really use the internet enough to where this is a problem

(edit) maybe facebook clickbait

If ISIS and other Islamic extremist groups can recruit across continents using it then I don't see what your basis for this claim is.

[11B4V]

Are you saying limit the information people get?

[garbon]

not sure enough people really use the internet enough to where this is a problem

(edit) maybe facebook clickbait

If ISIS and other Islamic extremist groups can recruit across continents using it then I don't see what your basis for this claim is.

Just as I was recruited in my teens to chat with you bozos for over a decade.

[Admiral Yi]

The solution is forced internet busing.

[The Brain]

not sure enough people really use the internet enough to where this is a problem

(edit) maybe facebook clickbait

If ISIS and other Islamic extremist groups can recruit across continents using it then I don't see what your basis for this claim is.

Just as I was recruited in my teens to chat with you bozos for over a decade.

Has it been that long? Fuck! I'm supposed to work... I wonder if I'm still employed.

[11B4V]

2003 or 2004 IIRC

[LaCroix]

If ISIS and other Islamic extremist groups can recruit across continents using it then I don't see what your basis for this claim is.

don't see this as a counterargument to my point. of course some people are really into the internet--that's how message boards formed. a number of people don't even really know what a message board is

[dps]

I was thinking about this -


Let's operate under the assumption that it is the case that the internet age has seen a shift in the manner that media is consumed such that the "information silo" effect often speculated on, where aero cost access to information does in fact actually mean that people become (overall) less prone to seeing multiple views, and able to simply reinforce their own (sometimes very extreme) viewpoints.


This is a human failing, not a technology failing. In hindsight, it isn't even that surprising. The human predisposition to simply using information to reinforce their conclusions, rather than forming conclusions based on information is pretty well understood at this point.


What worries me is that I don't see a solution, even in theory. It kind of flies in the face of my presumed Humanism, my presumption that more information is good, and people will make better decisions the more information they have access to...rather it seems like we were possibly actually better off when technology was such that there was a filter that restricted information (this of course presumes that those doing the filtering do so responsibly, and in many cases we know that THAT isn't true anyway).


Is this something that will eventually correct itself, it just takes time? Will humans simply learn to be better and more objective consumers of information, but right now we are smack in the very beginning of that painful learning process, so we cannot really see it?

.

More information is good.  The problem is that it's not enough that it be available to be accessed;  people also have to put some effort into accessing it.  The internet makes more information more readily available, but it still requires some effort on the part of people to access it.  Lots of people just aren't going to bother.

[MadImmortalMan]

I suspect that in the future the ease of migration will increase the regional segregation of ideas as well. I'd say it already has.

Doesn't really help the people with ideologies that don't really work in the real world.

[Archy]

In the good old days. You had newspaper for the socialists, liberals and Christian Democrats. They all got commercialized in the 90's.  So we're back to square one.

[The Brain]

I suspect that in the future the ease of migration will increase the regional segregation of ideas as well. I'd say it already has.

Where?