People LIKE fake news better.
It’s hard to argue with that. And if you are going to click and share it, Facebook is feeding you even more of it, because as long as you are sharing and liking it, they are making money.
With the invention of the cell phone, we have left behind the open web of democratized text, for the convenience and preferred design of mobile apps. Our phones have become our televisions. We open apps to read our feed, and if we like what we see, we can share it or make our “like” known. And someone gets paid for that!
But if not enough people “like” it, something more popular will replace it.
The internet has become popularity-driven. If you write something that not many people are interested in, it is very challenging to get eyes on it. (Hossein Derakhshan ~ 9:55) If your work isn’t popular, it’s essentially invisible.
In the open web, you move from site to site through hyperlinks, seeing and learning a variety of things while you are there. Apps, on the other hand, confine you to one site.
Our apps determine how, when and where we are accessing information – as well as what information we can view.
A further shift to images and video, means we are watching online instead of reading online. When we are reading, we are thinking. When we are engaging in video and images, we are invoking feelings and emotions, which means that in online environments, we are focusing on feeling over truth, and emotion over thinking (Hossein Derakhshan).
According to Henry Giroux, ‘celebrity culture’ in the US “dumbs down culture and collapses the distinction between serious and frivolous ideas”. Celebrity culture fills people with nonsense. The flow of money – the flurry of clicks – replaces the flow of thoughtfulness.
Popularity is monetized. Entertainment is more important than thinking.
And we are seeing the result of new reality on a global scale.
All of the posts in this series can be found here:
3/10 – How the “smart phone” and mobile apps have changed the way we interact online
4/10 – Historical perspective – the co-created open web to corporately owned platforms
5/10 – Algorithms: What’s controlling what you see and read?
6/10 – Information Literacy: What will your lesson plan look like now?
7/10 – Videos and Images – From Facts to Feelings
10/10 – Escape Your [Filter] Bubble
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Featured image by Noah Hinton on Unsplash
Resources:
Canadaland: People Like Fake News Better
Buzzfeed: How Macedonian Spammers Are Using Facebook Groups To Feed You Fake News
CBC Ideas: Screened Off – The Dangers of an Insular Web
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This post is part of a 10 day posting challenge issued by Tina Zita. You can’t be a connected educator if you don’t contribute. Sometimes we need a nudge to remember that if nobody shares, nobody learns. Thanks Tina!
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A caution about this post: I am a learner, not an expert.
I have set out here to use my #10posts10days (#10days10posts) challenge to explore this area that deeply interests me, in an open way that lets others see what I am learning. If you know more than I do, please correct me if necessary, and share! If you have more questions, please post those in the comments too. Let’s learn more together.
All of the posts in this series can be found here: You Live in a Bubble
