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the importance of diversifying your media intake

  • Writer: Devashree Thaker
    Devashree Thaker
  • Jul 12, 2020
  • 5 min read

With the rise of social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter in the early 2010s, we've seen various justice-oriented movements, starting with the Black Lives Matter movement, take to these mediums and utilize them to highlight matters that mainstream media failed to (objectively) cover and mobilized support for the cause on a global scale. Not only did this form of mass mobilization present a different perspective that allowed people to expand their understanding of the issue in a more holistic sense but it also created and provided a viable framework for sustaining a long-term movement that allowed for movements like #MeToo and #AbolishICE to take form.


Before we go any further, I want to take a moment to commend the activists, organizers, and supporters that help sustain movements like BLM despite all the barriers experienced (in addition to general ignorance) - especially in the form of competing with singular narrative reinforced by mainstream media outlets (like broadcasted news channels) and in having to cautiously navigate the algorithm that structures our social media feeds as we know it.


The appeal of social media lies in it's ability to generate mass appeal while holding individual attention - to make this idea a bit more palatable, I'll break down our experience as social media users by discussing:

  1. how we engage with social media platforms on an individual level

  2. how this individual engagement affects (and is affected by) the wants and needs of larger corporations - I'll be discussing this in depth in my next post

  3. the way in which we inhabit these digital spaces i.e. social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook ultimately influences what is deemed as 'normal' and 'relevant'


On a 1:1 level

At this scale, our interaction with social media can be broken down to 'the more you use it, the more it uses you'. Social Media platforms are essentially programmed to 'understand' you and your interests through the kinds of content you 'engage' with - this could range from something relatively obvious like visiting certain pages and using niche hashtags to relatively smaller, more obscure actions that you might not actively think about like the number of times you fully watch a video on your feed. It's not like the world stops existing outside of your interests but the algorithm that shapes the feed you eventually determines your social media experience filters the world you see (and don't see) accordingly.


For example, if you enjoy content related to astrology and cute hedgehog photos, your social media feeds are more likely to make that kind of content available to you by presenting accounts that engage with similar topics, re-directing you to specific pockets within a vast ever-expansive internet. Understanding this process helps explain how social media can be a means through which you can meaningfully engage with topics of interest without being 'burdened' by those that don't meet the criteria, however, it also depicts the danger of our feeds and timelines becoming one-sided stories*.


In the pursuit of creating personalized digital worlds for each user (to ensure that we continue using x platform), social media essentially creates a filter bubble of sorts wherein the lack of variety in content prevents us from critically engaging with and questioning the content (and implicit bias) that is being presented to us and as 'normal' and 'relevant'. Within this bubble, we're surrounded by views and beliefs that often align with our own, making our feeds echo-chambers that further reinforce our specific world view. In other words, our personalized feeds make us more vulnerable to confirmation bias as we continually interact with content that supports our beliefs while slowly becoming less receptive to differing ideas. This phenomenon is still relevant to your experience with social media EVEN if you just use it as a way to get (I know I've said it before but I'll say it again) cute hedgehog photos because you are still encountering a certain worldview that neglects anything and everything that does not fit in, especially when it comes to content that might lead you to disengage and disconnect from the platform which is usually the kind of content you need to be focusing on. Examples include but are not limited to - Black Lives Matter, the Yemen Crisis, Uighur concentration camps, and casteism in the name of nationalism in India.


The idea of 'the world being at our fingertips' with the Internet and the advent of social media is misleading in that it supports this notion that these avenues are means through which we can see the world for 'what it is'. But, in the same way that the news reported by 'objective' news channels/sources are often influenced by factors like the political parties that direct funds their way, our experience with social media stands to be influenced by various external factors including but not limited to the implicit bias within algorithms and the wants and desires of parties - corporations, political groups, etc. - with funding.

So, essentially, you cannot (and should not) solely rely on your social media (or trusted news channels) to provide an accurate, holistic representation of the world around you - these platforms are simply not designed to function that way. In order to use your social media as a tool through which you can gain a deeper insight of the world you live in and to explore matters that your feed and news channels neglect you need to actively seek out those resources and move outside the comfort of your filter bubble. While the subject of free will - specifically in terms of whether we as individual media consumers have any within a digital landscape - is highly contested, it is vital for us as individuals to challenge the rhetoric and narrative that is presented to us if we want to have a say in what's deemed as the norm.


Thinking about how you have been complicit in upholding oppressive systems that continue to reinforce harmful ideologies and practices that continue to harm marginalized communities, like Black folx and Dalits, is not easy or comforting. And it's definitely not meant to be either of those things. It is crucial for you to use your platform (no matter how big or small) to amplify the voices and experiences of those who are often and oppressed by the media that allows you to have the privilege of being validated - find accounts that focus on bringing educational content on these matters to the forefront, use platforms like Google and YouTube to continue educating yourself. Re-claiming our autonomy in this context has to go beyond recognizing that media's representation of the world is not exactly as objective as you might have hoped for it to be and has to involve unlearning internalized ideologies while re-centering the conversation on these issues.


Remember - it's more than okay to change opinion when presented with new information but being worried of the uncertainty that comes with a stepping out of our bubble should not stop us from evaluating the way in which we cause harm to others, even if its in the context of our social media consumption habits.


Please check the Resources tab as a starting point for more information on causes that need your attention right now.


Sources:

**Since this was more of a discussion/opinion piece, I didn't really use too many sources but here are some articles I looked at during the writing process. You can also find more information on the specific movements I've referred to by clicking on the hyperlinked text and reviewing additional resources listed under the Resources tab.

 
 
 

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