Is it over yet? How can we avoid this next time? Can we?
As we enter the final stretch of one of the most contentious, divided electoral cycles in U.S. history, I think it is important to reflect upon how we got to this point and how we can avoid it in future cycles. Many in the communications industry have spoken about "information bubbles" or "news bubbles" which are created by the bias we all have and the way in which we receive and consume information. These bubbles have become more and more defined as technology and consumption habits have changed.
Sixty percent of all Facebook and Twitter users receive their news exclusively through the social media platforms. This poses a particularly prescient problem. Social media platforms not only censor through self-determined interests, their algorithms are also set up to deliver information it thinks you find more interesting or align with your opinions. Add to that, the proliferation of opinion based "news" outlets, both online and broadcast, which deliver little more than perspective. This nexus of technology and habits create an almost impenetrable information bubble. It is only natural that people have dug in and become even more partisan as it is obvious to the least aware person that people gravitate to those with whom they agree and information sources which support preconceived notions. Making things worse, technology and media advances, which prey upon that inclination, have created the perfect information bubble disaster we find ourselves in today. The strength of our society is dependent on the breadth, and collective understanding, of diverging thought and our information creation and consumption system is in direct conflict with that goal.
So, how do you break out of your bubble? The answer seems simple but the practice takes commitment.
Below is a simple three step process to apply to your daily news/information consumption life to help broaden your sources and improve your information/news consumption:
1) Audit: Think about how you receive information in a typical day. Do you physically read a news paper, do you read it online? What type of news programming do you watch, if any. What topics are you drawn to, which are you repelled by. Do you read an entire article or just skim. Do you actually go to news websites or are you going to website from Facebook and Twitter links? Do you have an RSS feed or Google Alerts? Evaluate each piece you consume. What is the source? Is it news or opinion? Does it expand your understanding or provide new information? It is important to understand your habits before you can make any substantive changes to your routine and sources.
2) Change your identified habits: You must change from a passive consumer of information to an active consumer of information. Give yourself no less than 30 minute of active news consumption a day. If you depend on friends and people/organizations you follow for your news, stop. If you depend on news alerts, Google alerts, RSS feeds to provide your news, stop. If you watch one news broadcast, cable station, local affiliate, mix it up. If you do not subscribe to at least one newspaper, news magazine, etc. subscribe! (I recommend at least one local news paper, one national newspaper and one national news magazine). If you frequent blog-sites, media repackaging sites or hyper-partisan political sites, stop. Aside from subscribing to newspapers, I suggest mixing up your daily news intake and recommend staying away from opinion based sources and shows unless they provide an opposing viewpoint. If you are a Fox News junkie, move to MSNBC, or even better, watch PBS Newshour. Avoid the "breaking news" trap where you receive redundant information about a single news item of the day. If you remain on the "politics" tab of CNN but never venture into other areas of the site, you are limiting your exposure to the stories of the day. In turn, if you remain on CNN for the majority of your news, you will not learn of other important local, national and international news stories shaping our world. Think of it this way, 20 years ago a person would sit down, read and browse the entire newspaper and encounter information and topics of which they would not have sought out on their own. It broadened their knowledge of various topics and helped strengthen their perspective and ability to critically think.
3. Remain vigilant: As is always the case, changing one's habits is a difficult process and all of us will relapse from time to time. Technology has made us passive consumers of information and extremely easy to just let things come to us rather than have us seek them out. Intellectual curiosity is essential for a strong, informed populace, becoming too dependent on information technology and algorithm delivery systems weaken intellectual curiosity and thus weaken us as a society. It is up to you to avoid being the weak link.
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