While there are obvious benefits to having aggregated personalized content, what are the cultural implications of filtering out what does not fit your profile?
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Due to the various algorithms that continuously filter our news feeds and Google searches based on our preferences and "likes" we now see only what we want to see. And this is serious-very serious. If we continue with this trend, we're going to create a narcissistic group of people that are more narrow-minded than ever.
Being exposed to different opinions and ideas teaches us to value cultural and political diversity-it opens our minds to new horizons. It teaches us how to be critical thinkers and appreciate another person's opinion without accepting it. Ultimately, diversity is not only good but essential to the development of empathy within our human race.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it." -Aristotle
What does Rushkoff mean by a "data-point?" How have data-points been used in political debates? Is this a new phenomenon? What makes it seem different now?
As Rushkoff puts it, data points are internet information we now substitute for facts. This could be any information that we find after doing a quick "google search" on the web. He argues that these so-called data points retrieved from digital archives are falling short, because they are devoid of the process of authentic inquiry.
Back in the day prior to the age of the internet, we were forced to delve deep into academic study to "search" for something. Rushkoff even criticizes the use of encyclopedias-stating that they are "watered-down digests of knowledge [that] deny a person the learning that takes place along the way."
Personally, I was born in 1990 so I cannot even recall a time before encyclopedias. However, the process selecting a data point to me is synonymous with what we call cherry-picking. And the process of cherry-picking has been around for ages. We will scan through material, whether it be in an online or paper format and pick out the lines that best support our argument. Isn't this simply argumentative writing?
But, what makes this digital selection of cherry-picking different from years before is the speed and method in which we can find these so-called data points. At the touch of a screen, we can do a quick search and find any answer we're looking for. The problem is that we are not reading multiple sources to find our answer-the first link that pops up under a Google search will suffice.
But I'd like to argue that these data-points can be used positively, particularly in the field of education. These quick answers should be used as simply another entry-point into the process of inquiry and discovery. Just as we as educators design lessons to facilitate multiple entry-points for students of all levels and ability, these data-points have the potential to be used in a powerful way.
Reflect on how, in your life, exposure to unexpected people, places, events, and ideas have shaped who you are. What are the ways the bias of digital culture filters out these unexpected and complex encounters?
Sometimes there is beauty in the unknown and the element of surprise, because that is precisely what life is-an unexpected journey.
We can't deny that digital culture has become a huge part of our lives-we are truly connected at all times. So, when our networks filter out things that don't fit our preference profile we risk losing these unexpected events and ideas.
So, funny story alert ahead. My boyfriend (of about a year) and I met on Facebook. Yes, your read that correctly. Normally I wouldn't even respond to a message from somebody unknown, but the tone of the message seemed so kind and warm-hearted that I decided to reply. Several conversations and a few days later we went to dinner, and like they say-the rest is history.
However, a few months before I realized that Facebook actually filters your messages automatically to your "spam" folder. A friend pointed this out to me, and I proceeded to turn this feature off. Had I not actively turned that feature off, we might have never met. Who knows?
The point I'm getting at is that these unexpected digital encounters can shape the person we are, just as previously real-life unexpected adventures and people used to do.
What are some of the effects of this digital oversimplification on education? What are the effects on skilled labor and the experience of discovery?
Students nowadays run that quick Google search to find the answer they're searching for. This is only a negative effect when we stop seeing this as another entry-point for students to delve deeper into academic study.
Rushkoff argues that because of the digital oversimplification that we experience within the realm of our technological devices, we mistakenly assume that we live in a less complex world. And I partially agree with him on this. However, in the same token, I believe that the reduction of complexity has also prompted people to seek related real-world experiences. In essence, I try to look at what Rushkoff terms as a reduction of complexity as simply a way to get the ball rolling. But, I'm also a "glass half-full" kind of person-so I think this is just all in the way you view it.
For me, this so-called digital oversimplification can be used in a quite positive manner. Students can explore other people and cultures without traveling across the ocean, and we can take virtual field trips in various museums. So, I respectfully disagree with the author when he notes that digital oversimplification has society in a downward spiral.
Additionally, the experience of discovery can still remain intact if we implement Project-Based Learning into our educational curriculum. We no longer need to have a long process of inquiry to explore what is accepted as facts or common knowledge, because we have become too intelligent for mundane concepts. Rather we should implement rigorous, interesting, and challenging curriculum (such as PBL) that promote overall critical thinking skills and problem-solving.
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