IS SOCIAL MEDIA CONNECTING YOU OR ISOLATING YOU?

Feeling Connected — Homophily
Social Media gives people a feeling of being connected and accepted by others. People can keep connected with family and friends and also make new friends. Social Media platform gives people the opportunity to share with many people at once. Many people connect with people who they have something in common with or share a same belief with. Connecting with people who are like minded as you brings a sense of belonging and acceptance. These types of connections are called homophily.
https://medium.com/@yazminmedina/great-minds-think-alike-e8194b55ef0f
Algorithms in Social Media
Social Media Platforms have algorithms set up to track people’s browsings, likes check ins and connections. These algorithms are used to predict what the user likes and enjoys most and to predict those things the user does not enjoy or believe in. With this information users are sent promotions, links and stories in their newsfeed that are enjoyable to them. They also block news and information in which they believe the user would not enjoy from their newsfeed. While this is good because it connects the user with what they really like and enjoy, some fear that it is disconnecting people and isolating them from other points of views. This in turn intensifies homophily and is isolating them from all others that have different opinions and beliefs. Homophily and algorithms have a potential risk of encouraging people to over express their beliefs sometimes in ways of bullying or hate speech.
Avoiding Risks and Staying Connected
While there are risks of polarization from algorithms in social media, there is also an opportunity to use this to your benefit and get more followers and connections. By keeping an open mind and liking and clicking on different things, this actually helps increase your opportunity to get to know others, and learn on different subjects. If we keep a sense of respect to diversity and are curious and open minded to different ideas we can avoid risks of polarization, and actually make new connections.
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