| Ideas
The Internet and the Polarization of Thought
While made with good intentions, the predictive algorithms implemented by tech companies have had a nefarious side effect.
By Kevin Duckman, March 12, 2021
Title Image: Haley Triem
Most internet users are at least vaguely aware of the algorithms shaped by their searches and interests. Their function goes beyond just personalized advertisements/ targeted marketing. Popular social media and search engines will create in-depth profiles of you, your likes and dislikes, religion, your habits, and most notably your political affiliation.
The reason that these algorithms are in place is straightforward, and they are seemingly benign. At its root, as Katherine J. Wu best describes it in an article for NOVA, “The goal, of course, is to keep you coming back—to keep turning profits. That means filtering out anything you might deem a waste of time until the algorithm has effectively personalized your experience of a platform, showing you, in theory, only the things you’d want to see”.
Polarization is the unfortunate effect of personalization to an extreme. “Guided by suggested hyperlinks and auto-fills in search bars”, she writes in the same article, “web surfers are being nudged in the direction of political or unscientific propaganda, abusive content, and conspiracy theories—the same types of ideas that appear to have driven the perpetrators of several mass shootings. That includes the alleged Christchurch gunman, whose white supremacist and Neo-Nazi fascist views appear to have motivated the slaughter of at least 50 people earlier this month.”
Despite the possible severity of the algorithm’s effects, not much can be done. Because of how lucrative this model for personalization is, it is unlikely that it will be changed or discontinued in the near future, as it is already a problem spanning several years. Thankfully in recent years this dilemma has attracted more mainstream concern, but it is still up to individuals to educate themselves to combat this hefty influence.
Oftentimes, these algorithms exacerbate already-existing partisan divides. Shutterstock
This becomes problematic when a dispersed set of like minded individuals become stratified based on political affiliation. This is not to say that a group of like minded individuals knowingly aggregating through online platforms is necessarily harmful. Rather, this becomes harmful when people are solely exposed to their own and adjacent points of view unknowingly - at times of leisure, research, and more.
I could research a polarized topic such as universal healthcare and see completely different results based on a search engine’s “profile” of me. At best this influence leads to a silently encroaching political stance, in my experience I became a right-leaning independent. At its worst, this can spiral into radicalization and a separation from reality, as detailed in various articles.
Young Patriots co-founder Hector Miranda Plaza, for example, has had direct experience with this. Many others have fallen even deeper into the rabbit hole and become neo-Nazis, such as 26-year-old Caleb Cain. In an article on the New York Times, Cain said he was “brainwashed” and is now an outspoken critic of the movement, which he calls a “decentralized cult.” He, like many others, “had gotten sucked into a vortex of far-right politics on YouTube”. This type of radicalization is becoming more commonplace, and many of America’s youth have seen their peers descend into radicalization.
When it comes to myself or other socialists, many may argue that leftists take no issue with this grouping of ideas and subsequent indoctrination on the internet, so long as it pushes people towards my personal viewpoints rather than right-wing ideas. As a socialist and a critical thinker, I strongly oppose these echo chambers in whatever form they present themselves.
With the proliferation of misinformation on the internet, false claims are more accepted by certain communities than ever before. David McNew / Getty Images
It can be monotonous to be exposed exclusively to liberal ideas on social media and can foment a stagnation of meaningful discourse. Additionally, if socialists or leftist thinkers are caught in their own echo chamber, their analysis of competing political ideologies and groups, such as the Republican and Democratic Parties, becomes blunted.
Their understanding and subsequently their analysis of reactionary and other movements will become outdated and distorted. This could cause substantial detriment to leftist circles, as a core principle Marxism is a thorough and current analysis of national politics.
With the partisan information we consume unknowingly influencing us and opposing views being shrouded from our sights, it becomes increasingly difficult to take a determined stance in today’s social climate. Regardless of your political orientation or personal beliefs, you should strive to understand the driving factors of your political affiliations.
If a political message you agree with suddenly presents itself online, ask yourself these questions. How has the internet and media influenced my political affiliation? Have I seriously put my stance on trial, or scrutinized my own beliefs? How often do I engage in discourse with those who dissent from my point of view, and do I give them the same consideration as someone I agree with?